A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A: 1: precedes the European postal code on addresses in Austria. 2: anotacion, Colombia registration inscription, 1865-70. 3: architect, South Australia official overprint, 1868-74. 4: Aerovias Nacionales de Colombia S.A. Avianca airlines, overprint on Colombian air mail stamps of the 1950s. 5: a marginal marking used on flat plates indicating uniform vertical spacing between columns of stamps. This marking was intended to assist operators of perforating equipment. 6: air mail overprint on SCADTA air mail issues of Colombia, indicating a consular overprint sold in Germany, 1920. 7: Scott Catalogue prefixes for forerunners, such as India, used abroad. 8: watermark, with Imperial Crown, used in Australian stamps, 1913-26. 9: Amic, papermaker initial as a watermark, in the one lira issue of Modena. 10: in front of plate numbers, “A” indicates issues produced by American Bank Note Co. on rotary plates from Scott 1789 onward. 11: “A” inscription, U.S. non-denominated stamp, valued 15-cents, placed on sale May 22, 1978. 12: (Ger.)Auslandsbriefpriifstelle; Foreign Letter Censor Office, WW II, followed by letter indicating city. 13: auction abbreviation for autograph. 14. Anvers (Belg.) Antwerp. 15. architect, South Australia official overprint, 1868-74. 16: Armée (Fr.) army. 17: Auslandsstelle, Auslandsbriefprüfstelle (Ger.) Foreign Letter Censor Office, WW II, followed by letter indicating city. 18: Australian stamps watermark, with Imperial Crown, 1913-26. 19: Ante Meridiem, morning, coded time handstamps of 1890s. 20: Gibraltar, Imperial Censorship Code, WW II. 21: time of departure for Zeppelin flights
a: (Fr.) of, to, by, at
Å: one-letter post office name, Norway
A$: Australian dollars
A. 23: underlined watermark of Orange River Colony 2/6d King Edward V11 Revenue stamp
A25: British Colonial Office cancel for Malta
A thru X: Scott Catalogue suffix for Revenue Stamped Paper
AA: 1: USPS abbreviation for Armed Forces Americas, except Canada, see: AE. 2: (Fr.) Armée Autrichienne” (Austrian Army) 1748 British Army handstamp, for Austrian Army, usually on mail from Germany; carried by Thurn and Taxis to Belgium; see: Thurn and Taxis
A.A.A.: Australian Air Mail Association
AAB: Aloysius A. Baldus, BEP employee initials, 1906-1928; Plate Finisher, Siderographer
Aachen: 1: formerly Aix-la-Chapelle,, also transit marking; see: Aix-la-Chapelle. 2: Aachener Stadbriefbeförderung Merkur, German local, 1894-97
AACMO: Army Sir Corps Mail Operation, 1934-35
AADC: automated area distribution center, USPS term
AAFCE: Allied Air Force Central Europe
AAFPO: Australian Air Force Post Offices
AAI: Allied Armies, Italy
A.A.L.: Adria Aero Lloyd, Italy
Aalborg Bypost: (Dan.) Denmark local post, 1884-89
Aalborg Privatbaner: local, Denmark railway parcel
Aalesund Bypost: (Nor.) Norway local post, 1880-84
AAMC: 1: American Air Mail Catalog, USA. 2: Australian Air Mail Catalogue, Nelson Eustis
AAMS: see: American Air Mail Society
A&ESC: Aberdeen and Elgin Sorting Carriage, British
A and T, A&T: Annam and Tonkin overprint, French Protectorate in Indo-China; Jan. 21, 1888-1892: stamps of French Colonies surcharged A & T, see: Annam and Tonkin
Aanesneden: (Neth.) cut into
Aangebragt: (Dutch) Netherlands Dutch East Indies labels; 1845-46: postage due inscription
Aangetekend: (Neth.) registered
Aantal: (Dutch) number
AAPE: American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors, USA
Aarau: Switzerland local airmail, 1913
Aarhus Bypost: (Dan.) Denmark local post, 1884-1900.AAT: Australia Antarctic Territory
A.A.Vantine: US cancel or revenue stamp overprint for face powder product, 1914
Aayman Islands: bogus labels for Dayman, Layman, Nayman, Sayman, Yayman, etc.; British colonial royal wedding frames from book, Surreal Stamps and Unreal Stickers
A.B.: 1: Archibald Brown manuscript surcharge, 1891-95 on British East Africa Protectorate issues. 2; (Fr.) “assez beau”; fair to good condition, or appearance. 3: (Fr.) “abonnement”; subscription (to catalogs). 4: (Fr.) “Armeé Britannique” 1748 British Army handstamp, for Austrian army, usually on mail from Germany; carried by Thurn and Taxis to Belgium; see: Thurn and Taxis. 4: Russia surcharge, Cyrillic for Vladivostok Issue, Far Eastern Republic, 1923
AB: Andrew Black, BEP employee initials, 1906-1928; Plate Finisher, Siderographer
Ab: standard Berlin censorship office mark, WW II
A.B.A.: A.B. Aerotransport, Swedish airline
Abaco and Cays: group of the Bahamas Islands
Aba-el-Wakf: Egypt, see: Interpostal seals, 1879-84
Abajo: (Sp.) bottom
A.B. & S. (A. Beecher & Son): U.S. match stamp inscription; Private Die Proprietary Stamps
Abart: (Ger.) variety
Abattoirs: (Fr.) slaughter houses; French Colonies revenue inscription
ABB: marking on British postage-paid envelope; “A” indicates mail originates in Britain and was shipped to the U.S. as freight; first “B” indicates entry into the U.S. postal system, second “B” indicates delivery in the U.S
Abbey Post: United Kingdom strike local post, 1971
Abbildung: (Ger.) illustration
Abbonamento: (It.) subscription
Abbott’s Express: U.S. private local post serviced Boston, Lawrence and North Andover, Mass., label; 1850
Abbozzo: (It.) specimen
Abbreviato: (It.) abbreviated
ABC Warehouse: United Kingdom strike local post, 1971
ABCF: Associação Brasileira dos Comerciante Filatélicos; Brazilian Stamp Dealers Association
ABDA: American, British and Dutch Administration, censor handstamp, WW II
Abd al Kuri: bogus; island in Indian Ocean between Socotra and Horn of Africa
Abdruck: (Ger.) print or impression
Abeilles: (Fr.) bees, bee-like spots of French stamps issued 1863-71
Abercorn: now Mbala, Zambia; see: Zambia
Aberdeen: Aberdeen Circular Delivery Company, local, 1867
Aberdeen 5 Mi (Miss.): see: Confederate Postmasters’ Provisionals
A. Bergqvist Lokala Expressposten: Hälsingborg – A. Bergqvist Lokala Expressposten
Abessinien: (Ger.) Abyssinia, Ethiopia
A Betale-Portomerke: (Nor.) Norway postage due inscription, 1922-23
Abganagsstempel: (Ger.) postmark of office or origin
Abgeblasst: (Ger.) faded, discolored, rubbed-off color
Abgefärbt: (Ger.) stained
Abgenutzt: (Ger.) worn
Abgerissen: (Ger.) torn off
Abgeschliffen: (Ger.) ground off, such as German South West Africa altered cancelers
Abgestempelt, Abgest.: (Ger.) cancelled
Abgetrennt: (Ger.) separated
Abhängige: (Ger.) dependency (in the geopolitical sense)
Abidjan: French West Africa; 1959: March 21: stamp issue when colony became independent
Abidjan Games: common theme on stamps of the French Community of Nations, 1962
Abierta por la censura militar: (Sp.) opened by the military censor
Abime: (Fr.) damaged
Abingdon, Va. Paid 2 cents: see: Confederate Postmasters’ Provisionals
ABK: Andrew B. Kennedy, BEP employee initials, 1906-1928; Plate Finisher, Siderographer
Abkari: India States term for excise duties on liquors and drugs
Abkhazia: part of the Republic of Georgia, formerly Russia; 1993-post: bogus, “stamps and souvenir sheets” printed by private individuals
Abklatsch: (Ger.) offset, mirror image
Abkommen: (Ger.) agreement, convention
Abkürzn: (Ger.) abbreviated
Abkürzungen: (Ger.) abbreviations
Ablieferungbescheinigung: (Ger.) receipt for delivery
Ablösen im wasser: (Ger.) soak off in water
Ablösung: (Ger.) franking privilege for Prussian local officials
ABN, ABNC, ABNCo.: American Bank Note Company
Abnormal: nickname for stamps produced by De La Rue for Great Britain; 1862-80: one sheet for the archives, selected from sheets printed from a new plate, balance of sheets put into circulation
Abnormal perforations: may be caused by a bent pin in the perforating machine
Abnützung: (Ger.) wear
Abo: now Turku, Finland
Abominable Snowmania: bogus, Punch magazine cover parody
Abonné: (Fr.) subscriber
Abonnement: (Fr., Ger.) subscription
Abonnements-Poste: (Fr.) subscriptions for newspaper do not require postage stamps; Universal Postal Union regulation
Abono(s): (Sp.) marking on early covers indicating that postage was prepaid to destination
Abo Lans Kustångbåts: (Fin.) local post via steamship, Finland late 1890s
Abou-Choukouk: Egypt, 1879-82, see: Interpostal seals
Abou-el-Scekuk: Egypt, 1874-76, see: Interpostal seals
Abou-Hamade: Egypt, 1879-84, see: Interpostal seals
Abou-Homos: Egypt, 1865-84, see: Interpostal seals
Abou-Kerkas: Egypt, 1879-84, see: Interpostal seals
Abou-Kibir: Egypt, 1879-84, see: Interpostal seals
Aboukir: Egypt, 1880, see: Interpostal seals
Aboutigh: Egypt, 1879-82, see: Interpostal seals
Above privilege number: handstamp applied to a letter disallowed under the franking system
ABPO: Australian Base Post Office. 2: Advanced Base Post Office, 3. Army Base Post Office
Abrechnung: (Ger.) settling of account
Abrége: (Fr.) abbreviated
Abreviaçãos: (Port.) abbreviations
Abreviado: (Port., Sp.) abbreviated
Abreviaturas: (Sp.) abbreviations
Abreviere: (Rom.) abbreviation
Abroad: U.S. postal agencies in another country
Abrücken: (Ger.) departure
Abruka: bogus issue, not valid for postage
Absatz: (Ger.) sale, paragraph
Abschiedsserie: (Ger.) farewell series of a stamp issue, sentimental tribute; 1920: for example: Bavaria stamps overprinted “Deutsches Reich.”
Absender, Abs.: (Ger.) sender
Absenderfreistempel: (Ger.) meters used by private firms
Absendermarke: (Ger.) return address label
Absendervermerk: (Ger.) return address
Absentee ballot materials: postcard applications, ballots, voting instructions, and envelopes sent through the mail without postage prepayment; permits U.S. citizens, and their spouses and dependents to apply for registration and to vote when absent from the place of voting residence
Absentee bidder: bidder participating in a public auction, but personally not present at the auction; see: auction agent, book bid
ABSN: Al Burn Stamp News, USA
Abstand, Abst.: (Ger.) spacing
Abstempeln: (Ger.) to cancel
Abstempelung: (Ger.) cancellation, a mark placed on a stamp by a postal authority to deface the stamp and prevent its misuse
Abstimmung: (Ger.) plebiscite
Abstimmung in Salzburg / 29 Mai 1921: (Ger.) bogus overprint on stamps of Austria
ABSV: Arbeiter-Briefmarken-Sammler-Verein
Abteilung: (Ger.) battalion, detachment, unit
Abtönen: (Ger.) color shading
Abu Dhabi: sheikdom in the Persian Gulf; part of United Arab Emirates; currency: 100 naye paise = 1 rupee (1964), 100 fils = 1 dinar (1966) 1833: Dubai sheik renounced allegiance to Abu Dhabi, 1862-1971: under British protection, 1892: became British protectorate, 1948, Apr.1-April 26, 1966: Muscat; stamps of British Postal Administration surcharged in Indian currency, 1948, Apr.1-Jan. 6, 1961: Dubai; stamps of British Postal Administration surcharged in Indian currency, 1950-1957: Qatar; stamps of British Postal Administration surcharged in Indian currency, 1951: 1951, 1953: BPA stamps used in Kuwait and Bahrain during stamp shortages, 1956-1963: Das Island oil workers mail sent through British Postal Superintendent at Bahrain, 1960, Dec.-Mar. 29, 1964: stamps of British Postal Administration in Eastern Arabia used, 1963, Mar. 30: used stamps of British Postal Administration, opened office in Eastern Arabia, 1964, Mar. 30: No. 1, 5 naye paise bright yellow-green, 1966, Jan. 6: Das Island post office remained in Bahrain, 1967, Jan. 1: post office taken over by Abu Dhabi, 1971, Dec. 2: joined the United Arab Emirates, 1972, Aug.: Abu Dhabi stamps overprinted United Arab Emirates, 1973, Jan. 1: UAE joint issues with Ajman, Dubai, Fujeira, Sharjah, Umm al Qiwain
Abu Dhabi: stamps overprinted United Arab Emirates, 1972
A buon mercato: (It.) a good buy, cheapest
Abusive Issue: if a stamp is not issued in a transparent or open manner and is not sold by the issuing postal administration
Abutshi: city in Southern Nigeria; 1895-Oct.1899: Royal Niger Company handstamp used on stamps of Great Britain
Abwehr: (Ger.) defense, military security
Abweichung: (Ger.) variety, error
Abwertung: (Ger.) devaluation
Abwicklung: (Ger.) settlement or liquidation
Abwicklungsgebühr: (Ger.) official fee
Abyssinia: Ethiopia, former name; see: Ethiopia
Abyssinien: (Ger.) Abyssinia
Abzug: (Ger.) copy, proof
AC: actual count, USPS term
Acacia gum: gum from the acacia plant, shrub or tree, named after the places or countries (arabic, senegal and syriac) in which the gum is collected
Acambaro: bogus; Mexican District revolutionary provisional; 1914: simulating 1867 issue
Acanalado: (Sp.) ribbed
Acaponeta: (Sp.) Mexican District; 1914: revolutionary provisional issue
Acapulco: overprint used on stamps of Mexico for this district during 1856-1883
Accent: mark placed over a letter that modifies its pronunciation, appears on stamps
Accept par la censure: (Fr.) passed by censor
Accepted design: final stage in the stamp design being made ready
Accepté projet: (Fr.) adopted design
Accessories: products used by the stamp collector in the aid of stamp identification and handling; also known as tools
Accessory Transit Co. of Nicaragua: local handstamp; 1836-1860: mail of private firm
Accidenté: (Fr.) salvaged, damaged
Accountable mail: mail that requires the signature of the addressee upon receipt to provide proof of delivery
Accountable materials: includes U.S. postal items such as aerogrammes, International Reply Coupons, postage stamps, philatelic products, postal cards, stamped envelopes and postal cards, blank postal money order forms, migratory-bird hunting and conservation stamps, or any unsold item, USPS term
Account letter: letter forming part of a letter and number combination; 1887-1947: printed on British stamps
A.C.C.P.: Azerbaijan, Cyrillic for Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic
ACCR: bogus, Antarctic Confederation of City Republics
Accumulation: large collection of stamps that has not been arranged in any particular order
Accumulator: one who collects stamps in show boxes, etc., not in any order or category
Accurate: exact or correct; Sorgfaltig (Ger.), Soigne (Fr.), Acurata (It.), Esmerado (Sp.)
Acechador: (Sp.) scout topic, theme
Aceituna: (Sp.) olive (color)
Acélmetszet: (Hung.) steel plate engraving
A censurar en destino: (It.) to be censored at destination
ACEP: (Fr.) Association du Collectionneurs des Entiers Postaux; (Postal Stationery Collectors Association)
A Certo: (Sp.) Ancachs, 1884 Peru manuscript overprint, provisional issue; term is former canceling device used for another purpose
ACFT: bogus, Antarctic Confederation of Federal Territories
Achalpur: formerly Ellichhput, India
Achat: (Ger.) buy
Acheminé: (Fr.) forwarded (letter)
Acheson’s graphite: graphite lines, manufactured by Acheson Colloids, Ltd., Great Britain, used to activate an automatic letter facing machine, 1950s
Achéte: (Fr.) bought
Acheter: (Fr.) to buy
Acheteur: (Fr.) buyer
A cheval: (Fr.) offset, straddling
Achin: Sumatra local overprint, Japanese occupation, 1942-45
Achmant: Egypt, 1879-84, see: Interpostal seals
Achrovure Division of Union Camp, Inc.: private printer of the 1968 U.S. Walt Disney stamp
Achteckstempel: (Ger.) octagonal cancel
Achterbock: (Ger.) block of eight
Achterdijk: bogus, Donald Evans issue, Holland
Achterkant: (Dut.) back
Acid: chemical compound having a pH below 7.0. Paper with a pH below 7.0 is considered acidic and can, in time, affect stamps and covers attached to the acidic page
Acid free paper: paper manufactured under neutral conditions with a pH greater than 7.0 containing no acidic additives
Acinzentado: (Port.) greyish (color); Cinza
Acinzentado-amarello: (Port.) greyish-black (color)
Acinzentado-ardósua: (Port.) greyish-slate (color)
Acinzentado-azul: (Port.) greyish-blue (color)
Acinzentado-lilás: (Port.) greyish-lilac (color)
Acinzentado-oliva: (Port.) greyish-olive green (color)
Acinzentado-pardo: (Port.) greyish-brown (color)
Acinzentado-preto: (Port.) greyish-black (color)
Acinzentado-púpura: (Port.) greyish-purple (color)
Acinzentado-verde: (Port.) greyish-green (color)
Acinzentado-violeta: (Port.) greyish-violet (color)
Acker Company: private advertisements mailed to customers; labels, 1882-1912
Acknowledgement of Receipt (A.R.): notification by the post office that the mail piece has been delivered to the addressee; Ruckschein (Ger.), Accuser Reception (Fr.), Aviso di Ricevuta (It.), Aviso de Recibo (Sp.)
Acknowledgement of Receipt stamp: required to pay the additional fee for return-receipt service; paid with regular stamps in the United States; Ruckscheinmarke (Ger.), Timbre d’accuser de Reception (Fr.), Avviso di Ricevuta (It.), Sello de Aviso de Recibo (Sp.)
Acme City Parcel Delivery: private local post servicing Providence, R.I.; label, year unknown
ACN: Arthur C. Noble, BEP employee initials, 1906-1928;see Plate Finisher, Siderographer
ACOFIL: Associaçâo de Comerciantes Filatelicos de Portugal; Portuguese Stamp Dealers Association
A Combination Press: BEP webfed, BEP eight color press, 1973-93, created floating plate numbers
A condition: (Fr.) on approval
Acorazado: (Sp.) battleship marking on 1936-37 Spanish civil war covers
Acostado: (Sp.) horizontal
ACP: Advanced Coated Paper; a new phosphor coated paper with a brighter glow than the earlier paper, 1983
ACPS: see: American Ceremony Program Society
Acre: now Akko, Israel
Acre, Territory of: bogus, Brazil rebellious state that was purchased from Bolivia in 1902, Donald Evans issue
Across-the-lines mails: U.S. Civil War term for mail carried by private express firms between the North and South
ACRSN: A.C. Roessler’s Stamp News
ACSC: Australia Commonwealth Specialist Catalogue
ACT: air contract transportation tag, USPS term
AC Tagging: Added to color; phosphored ink
Actes de Naissance: (Fr.) birth certificates; French Colony revenue inscription
Action Staff Agency: United Kingdom strike local post, 1971
Acuartelamiento: (Sp.) barracks, Spanish civil war Foreign Legion cover marking
AD: 1: auction abbreviation for topical advertising. 2: Andorra, country code as used by UPU
A. D.: 1: Anno Domini, proceeds year date. 2: Andrew Dick, manuscript surcharge; 1891-95: British East Africa Protectorate issues. 3: abbreviation for Andrew Doherty, on Playing Card stamps
Adadi: India States term for land settlement
Adaluncatiff: bogus, no information available as to where distributed
Adams & Co. Express: U.S. local post; Calif.; 1849, Sept.-54: operating in California and the Pacific Coast
Adams & Co’s Express: private local post servicing east coast, stamps, corner cards; 1841-55
Adams & Co.’s Poker Chip Stamps: stamps printed in thin pink cardboard and sued as poker chips or currency, 1854
Adams & Mason’s Express: private local post serviced Boston, Medfield and Medway, Mass., labels; 1850
Adams City Express Post: U.S. local post, New York, N.Y., 1850-51
Adams Express Company: private local post; nationwide; stamps, corner cards, labels, year unknown
Adams Express Company Knoxville, Tenn: carried mail “across the lines” during the American Civil War
Adams Expres – Kjøbenhavn: Copenhagen – Adam’s Expres Local Post
Adam’s Expres Local Post (Denmark): Copenhagen – Adam’s Expres Local Post
Adana: formerly Seyham, Turkey
ADAPS: Assistant Director Army Postal Service
Ad arco: (It.) “arch” or “leaf” issue, 1930-31 King George V, Canada; name given to differentiate set from previous series
Adaref: Egypt, 1879-80, see: Interpostal seals
Ad collar: printed advertising surrounding the stamp area
Add., Addr.: auction term, indicates cover is addressed
Ad Dawhah: formerly Doha, Qatar
Added Art: addition of original art to the margins of a stamp, aka remarque
Addendum: appendix or supplement to a book; some stamp catalogs have an addendum listing stamps after the catalog had been prepared but prior to printing
Addicional: (Sp.) overprint on federal tax stamps of Mexico; to indicate an additional fee to be added to any other taxable transaction
Additional: increased in any manner
Additional halfpenny: hand-struck marking; 1813-1839: mail from England to or from Scotland indicating that an extra 1/2d postage was chargeable as a levy paid to the Scottish Turnpike Trusts
Additional Medicine Duty Not Available for Postage: overprint on British postage stamps for revenue use in 1915, when rate of duty was increased and revenue stamps were not available
Additional Printing: another printing of an already issued stamp that may be different or exactly the same ar the original issue. Afterprint: term for samples of every stamp issued in Finland as requested by the Russian postal authorities in 1891
Additionnel: (Fr.) increased in any manner
Additive stamp: non-denominated issue U.S. stamp, used for additional postage during rate changes
Addizionale: (It.) increased in any manner
Add-on cachet: design added to a cover which did not originally have a cachet
Addr.: addressed
Address: place to which mail can be sent; Addressieren (Ger.), Adresse (Fr.), Dirigere (It.), Direccion (Sp.)
Address. & Office Supply: United Kingdom strike local post, 1971
Addressee: one to whom anything is addressed; Empfanger (Ger.), Destinaire (Fr.), Destinatario (It., Sp.)
Addressieren: (Ger.) to write an address
A découvert (Fr.): Universal Postal Union term for transit mail (mail that crosses borders while en route from one country to another) that is in sealed containers
Adelaide: city in South Australia; 1836: handstamps introduced; Thomas Gilbert named first postmaster of colony, 1839: service expanded to Port Adelaide
Adelgazado: (Sp.) thinned
Adélie (Coast) Land: French possession in Antarctica; includes Iles Amsterdam, Crozet, Kerguelan and Saint Paul; 1840: Jules S.C. Dumont d’Urville discovered territory, 1948: “Terre Adélie-Dumont Durville 1840” overprint on airmail stamp of Malagasy Republic, 1955: French claim section of Antarctic Adélie Land, but US does not recognize claim; stamps issued as French Southern and Antarctic Territories, 1998: administered from Paris, French Southern and Antarctic Territories
Adelie Land; 1840: Jules S.C. Dumont d’Urville discovered territory, 1948: “Terre Adélie-Dumont Durville 1840” overprint on stamp of Malagasy Republic
Aden: now Yemen, South Arabia; currency:12 pies = 1 anna (1937); 16 annas = 1 rupee; 100 cents = 1 shilling (1951) 1839, June 5,-1937: used stamps of India, when annexed as a British colony and protectorate to British India; original post offices at Crater called Aden Cantonment (Camp), 1854: stamps of India on sale in Aden when office was place under the Bombay administration, 1858: main post office moved to Steamer Point, 1935: formerly made a Crown Colony, 1937, April 1: No. 1, ½ anna light green; Aden (British) Protectorate, 1963, Jan.: became part of Federation of South Arabia, 1965, April 1: first Federation of South Arabia stamps issued; Yemen, Kingdom of
Aden: Kalashnikov AK47; unissued Great Britain cinderella by David Horry, 2001
Aden States: two sultanates of the Aden protectorate issued their own stamps in 1942 see: Kathiri State of Seiyun (Kathiri), Qu’Aiti State of Shihr and Mukalia (Qu’Aiti). Adhésif: (Fr.) adhesive
ADH: Andrew D. Headley, employee initials, 1906-1928; Plate Finisher, Siderographer
Adhesion Victimas San Juan y Pueblo Argentino: inscription on stamps of Paraguay semipostal for victims of an Argentine earthquake
Adhesive: 1: paper postage stamp with gum on the back intended to be glued on letters, packages, etc. 2: the gum used to affix a postage stamp
Adhesive collar: advertising collar that is affixed to an envelope over which the stamp is placed
Adhesivo: (Sp.) adhesive (stamp)
Adicional: (Sp.) increased in any manner
Adigey: bogus Russian Federation Republic; local post overprint and stamps, not valid for postage
Adirondack Express Co.: private local parcel delivery; serviced New York, Vermont and Canada; labels, year unknown
Adjaria: bogus Russian issue, 1996?
Adjudani: bogus, Donald Evans issue; Persia
Adjudication: (Fr.) sale (to a bidder)
Adlercreutz: (Fin.) local post, ship cancel Finland, 1880s
Administrador de Correos: (Sp.) postmaster
Administradorra de Correos: (Sp.) postmistress
Administration of Western Thrace: in Greek, 1920 overprint on stamps of Greece, as a stopgap measure until the unoverprinted Greek postage is authorized
Administracion de Cambio: (Sp.) Foreign Section Administrative department, exchange rate
Administracion de Correos: (Sp.) administrative department, post office
Administration des Postes: (Fr.) postal authorities
Administration Reform: common design on stamps of Portugal and Colonies, 1969
Administrative Cancel: applied by the postal administration to change value of postal item
Admiralty Islands: see: New Guinea, Mandated Territory
Admirals: 1: 1912-25 series of Canadian stamps showing King George V in the full dress uniform of an admiral of the Royal Navy. 2: 1926 New Zealand issue. 3: 1913-19, Rhodesia. 4: 1924-30, Southern Rhodesia
Admiralty Official: Admiralty Dept., Great Britain 1903 overprint for official use
Admon: (Sp.) administration
Admon. Pral. De Correos en Campeche: (Sp.)”Principal Administration of Posts in Campeche” inscription on provisional stamps of Campeche, Mexico, 1876
Admon. Pral. De Correos del Depto. De Apurímac Abancay: (Sp.) overprint on Arequipa provisional stamp in Abancay, Peru, a town on the Apurímac River area west of Cuzco: “Principal Administration of Posts of the Department of Apurímac-Abancay.” 1885
Ados: one half of Barbados bisected stamp; Barb
A. D. P. O.: (Fr.) “Administration Dette Publique Ottomane,” inscription; Administration of the Ottoman Public Debt, 1917, French military occupation, revenue stamps
A. D. P. O./Z. O.: (Fr.) Zone Ouest (Western Zone for Lebanon), inscription; see: A.D.P.O
Adresní Záznamní Lístek: (Czech.) address registration card (coupon)
Adressaten Okänd: (Swed.) addressee unknown
Adressbrev: (Swed.) address letters, introduced in 1873 by noting on letters or postcards “Härmed ett pakete” (“Herewith a parcel”); they were stamped with the fee for the parcel postage
Adresse: (Fr., Ger.) address; place to which mail can be sent
Adresse Insuffisante: (Fr.) insufficient address, return to sender
Adressförändring eller återtagande: (Swed.) change of address or withdrawal
Adresskort: (Swed.) address cards
Adria-Alpenvorland: bogus, never issued 1945 German occupation locals printed in Vienna
Adrianople: now Edirne, Turkey
ADS/Postalia Corp./Tele-Norm Corp./Francotyp-Postalia: U.S. postage meter firm, started about 1960, now a division of ADS-Anker Data Systems of Germany
Adsons: term used for New Zealand stamps with commercial advertising on the back, 1893
Adstamps: US stamps affixed to an advertising collar to affix to an envelope, 1980s
Adsubia: local, Spanish civil war, Republican, 1937
A due colori: (It.) bicolored
Aduna: (Sp.) revenue stamp for custom duties on imported goods; first issued in 1885s
Advance deposit account: debit account into which a mailer deposits funds that are maintained by the postal administration and from which postage is later deducted at the time of mailing; also called trust account in some nations
Advent Bay: rubber stamp cancel for Spitsbergen
Advertised covers: an undelivered cover advertised by post office to locate recipient
Advertised letter: letters marked with a special marking “Advertised” or “ADV” by U.S. postmasters during the 19th century connoting an ad was placed in the newspaper that the letter was not collected after a certain period of time; 1¢ could be charged by the paper, which was passed on to the customer; some postmasters charged more than the 1¢ fee they paid
Advertisement: first ad from a collector looking to buy and exchange stamps published in London’s Family Herald, 1851
Advertisement pane: booklet or sheet of stamps with one or more stamp spaces used for an advertisement
Advertisements on postmarks: first used by Great Britain during WW1; 1963: Great Britain offered pictorial or slogan cancels for a fee
Advertisements on stamps: Great Britain ads; 1881: first ad for “Pear’s Soap” imprinted on the back over the gum, several nations currently issue stamps depicting a commercial product
Advertising collar: ads, printed on the envelope, shaped like a horseshoe to fit around the stamp
Advertising cover: cover front that has advertising of a commercial product, hotel, etc
Advertising label: label used to make up a full booklet pane advertising a commodity or service
Advertising mail: USPS term, called Standard Mail as of Jan. 7, 2001
Advertising postmarks: started during World War I as a propaganda tool
Advice of delivery: international postal term allowing the sender, on payment of a fee, to be notified of the delivery of the item
Adviesprijs: (Dutch) suggested bid
ADW: Alven D. Whittington, employee initials, 1906-1928; Plate Finisher, Siderographer
Adygeia: bogus Russian Federation Republic; local overprint and stamps
Adygea, Republic of: illegal labels, purporting to be stamps, as per Jan. 14, 2002, Russian Federation report to the UPU; not valid for postage
Adzaneta de Albaida: local, Spanish civil war, Republican, 1937
AE: 1: United Arab Emirates, country code as used by UPU. 2: USPS abbreviation for Armed Forces Africa, Canada, Europe, Middle East. 3: affairs étrangPres (Fr.) foreign affairs, French Colony revenue inscription. 4: aerophilately, a philatelic discipline recognized for FIP exhibitions
A. E.: (Fr.) “affairs étrangcres” foreign affairs, French Colony Revenue inscription. 1912-1944: Italian issues overprinted “Egeo,” “Isole Italiane Dell’Egeo” from various islands: Calchi, Calino, Caso, Coo, Fero, Nisiro, Patmo, Piscopi, Rhodes (Rodi), Scarpanto, Simi, and Stampalia, 1916: stamps of Italy without overprints used, 1920: Greece recognized Italian control of the islands, 1923: formerly ceded to Italy, 1944-45: German occupation issues, 1945-47: British Middle East Forces occupation overprint MEF (Middle East Forces), 1947: stamps of Greece overprinted SDD (Dodecanese Military Occupation), 1947: stamps of Greece.Egte: (Dan.) authentic
A. E. A.: Atomic Energy Agency
Æægiske øer: (Dan.) Aegean Islands
Æblegrøn: (Dan.) apple-green (color)
Ægte: (Dan.) genuine
Ægypten: (Dan.) Egypt, Egyptian (adj.)
Ægyptensk: (Dan.) Egypt, Egyptian (adj.)
Ælder: (Dan.) older
A. E. D.: “affranchie a l’etranger jusqu’a destination”; 1827: usage for mail from Sardinia to France where postage had been prepaid
AEF: Albert E. Fischer, BEP employee initials, 1906-1928; Plate Finisher, Siderographer
A. E. F.: 1: French Equatorial Africa (Afrique Equatoriale Francaise). 2: American Expeditionary Forces established in World War I; AEF Mail, AEF post offices and AEF booklets
A.E.F. booklets: books of 1¢ and 2¢ denomination made for the A.E.F. in France in panes of thirty stamps, 1918
A.E.F. post offices: handled A.E.F. mail, July 1, 1918
Aegaische Inseln: (Ger.) Aegean Islands
Aegean Islands: odecanese island group in the Aegean, off the coast of Turkey; currency: 100 centesimi = 1 lira (plural lire) (1861), 100 cents = 1 euro (2002) 16th century-post: under Turkish rule, 1912-1932: Italian issues overprinted “Egeo”, “Isole Italiane Dell’Egeo” from various islands; includes: Calchi, Calino, Caso, Coo, Lero, Lisso, Nisiro, Patmo, Piscopi, Rhodes (Rodi), Scarpanto, Simi, and Stampalia, 1912: stamps of Greece used in parts of Turkey occupied by Greece (New Greece), Macedonia, Epirus, some of the Aegean islands, 1912, Oct. 8: Icaria (Nicaria) stamps issued after independence from Turkey, overprinted “Greek Administration” stamps issued June 1913, 1912-13: Limnos (Lemnos) overprint on stamps of Greece during occupation, 1912: Nov: Mytilene (Lesbos) overprint on stamps of Greece and Turkey during occupation, 1912, Nov. 14: Samos Provisional Government issued own stamps, 1913, May 13: Samos, Provisional Government, stamps overprinted “Greece” in Greek letters, 1913, May: Khios (Chios) overprint on stamps of Greece during occupation, 1916: stamps of Italy without overprints used, 1920, June 19-Aug. 21, 1920: stamps overprinted by French administration, 1920: Greece recognized Italian control of the islands, 1922, July 11: Castelrosso, stamps of Italy overprinted for use; 1924: formerly ceded to Italy, 1930: first air mail stamp, 1934: first postage due stamp issued, 1944-45: German occupation issues, 1945-47: British Middle East Forces occupation overprint “MEF” (Middle East Forces), 1947, Sept.: stamps of Greece overprinted “SDD” (Dodecanese Military Occupation)
Aegna: bogus issue, not valid for postage
Ægypten: (Dan.) Egypt
Ægyptensk: (Dan.) Egyptian
A. E. J. F.: (Fr.) “affranchie a l’étranger jusqu’a la frontiere”; prepaid to the border only, used in France during the 1830s
Aeores: (Fr.) Azores overprint and inscription on stamps of Portugal
A.E.P.: Académie Européenne de Philatélie; European Academy of Philately; founded in France in 1977, to develop the friendship of European prestigious philatelists and to publicize their work
Aerea: (It.) airmail overprint
Aereo: (Sp.) airmail overprint or inscription
Aereo exterior: (Sp.) Guatemala overprint for airmail
Aereo interior: (Sp.) Honduras overprint for official interior airmail
Aereo Sedta: (Sp.) “Sociedad Ecuatoriano de Transportes Aereos” Ecuador airmail overprint, 1938-40
Aero oy: Finland inscription for 20th anniversary of Finnair, 1944
Aerial Post: early British term for air mail
Aereotarg Poznan: (Pol.) Poland semi-official airmail stamps for Poznan, 1921
Aérien (ne): (Fr.) air (mail)
Aero Club of Canada/Grand Army of Canada: semi-official airmail, Canada, 1918-20
Aero correo: (Sp.) Honduras airmail overprint
Aerofilatelia: (Sp.) aerophilately
Aéroglisseur courrier part: (Fr.) hovercraft mail
Aerogram: see: Aérogramme
Aerograma: (Sp.) airmail postal stationery, air letter sheet
Aerogramm: (Ger.) airmail postal stationery, air letter sheet
Aérogramme: (Fr.) official U.P.U. name for air letter sheet; lightweight paper with gummed flaps, usually with an imprinted stamp indicium, transported by air to other countries, no enclosures are permitted.Aerogramme, inland: used for domestic service with no guarantee of air service
Aerogramme, military: mostly used by British Forces during World War II
Aerogramme, official: used by government officials and departments
Aerogramme, regular issue: with imprinted postage or airmail stamps
Aerogramme, reverse die cutting: printed sheet of an aerogram placed in an inverted position when sheets are being cut
Aerogramme, semi-official: inscriptions added with implied or tacit approval of the government
Aerogramme, tablet: inscription on the front panel, usually reading “Via Airmail” etc
Aerogramme, unwatermarked sheets: majority of aerograms are printed on unwatermarked sheets, while others do not show the watermark due to mark’s wide spacing
Aerogrammo: (It.) airmail postal stationery, air letter sheet
Aerogramy: (Czech.) airmail postal stationery, air letter sheet
Aéronaute: (Fr.) balloon post crew members during the Siege of Paris, 1870-71
Aérophilatélie: (Fr.,Ger.) aerophilately
Aerophilately: branch of collecting that deals with airmail stamps and covers and their usage
Aeroplane mail, first: the first flight took place from the United Provinces Exhibition Grounds at Allahabad, India to Naini Junction, five lies away on Feb. 18, 1911
Aeroplane mail, first U.S.: mail was flown from Garden City, N. Y. to Mineola during the International Aviation Tournament, Sept. 23-30, 1911
Aero Plane Special Safety Match: Swedish firm’s label used on mail as sticker, year unknown
Aeroplane Station: circular date stamp for the Third Annual Aviation Meet, Oakland, Ca. sponsored by the Pacific Aero Club
Aeroport: (Rom.) Airport
Aeroport International de Kandahar: Kandahar international airport, Afghanistan postmark
Aeroporto: (It.) Airport
Aeropuerto: (Sp.) airport, used on postmarks
Aerostato: (It.) balloon mail
Aerotarg Poznan 1921: Poznan, Poland semi-official airmail stamps
Aerovias Nacionales: Puerto Rico semi-official airmail stamps
Aerovias Nacionales de Colombia: (Sp.) airline in Colombia; 1950-51: airmail stamps overprinted “A” for mail carried by AVIANCA
Aer-phost: (Ire.) air post
AF: 1. Afghanistan, country code as used by UPU. 2. currency abbreviation for afghan (Afghanistan)
Afars and Issas: Eastern Africa, formerly French colony of Somali Coast; now Djibouti Republic; stamps of this country can be found in these catalogs: Albany Stamp Company, Michel, Scott, Stanley Gibbons, Yvert & Tellier;currency:100 centimes = 1 Djiboutian franc (1967); 1896: organized as a colony, names of two tribes that inhabited the area, 1944: peace accord ended Afars rebellion, 1946: became territory within the French Union, 1958: member in the French Community, 1967-pre: French Somali Coast, stamps of Obock and Djibouti, 1967-77, Aug. 21: stamps inscribed French Territory of Afars and Issas, 1967, Aug. 21: first stamps issued, 1969, Aug. 21: first airmail, 1969, Dec. 15: postage due stamps issued, 1977, June 27: renamed the Republic of Djibouti, Benadir, Djibouti, Obock, Oltre Giuba, Italian East Africa, Italian Somaliland, Somalia, Somalia Coast, Somalia Coast-French, and Somalia Coast Protectorate
Afars and Issas: two tribes that inhabited the area
AFC: Advanced facer-canceler, USPS term
AFCENT: Allied Forces Central Europe
AFDCS: American First Day Cover Society
A Felkelo Makyarok Altal Megszallot Nyugat Magyarzag 1921 Aug.-Sept.: (Hung.) overprint on stamps of Hungary produced by armed forces ousting Austrian troops occupying portion of Western Hungary per terms of the Versailles Treay: “Western Hungary Occupied by Insurgent Hungarians 1921 Aug.-Sept.”
Aff. Excep Faute Timb: (Fr.) abbreviation on handstamp used provisionally in Ethiopia in 1911 during shortage of postage stamps
Affiches: (Fr.) public signs and posters; French Colony revenue inscription
Affiliates, APS: organized for the study of specific area of philately
Affix: fasten, such as affix a postage stamp to an envelope
Affixing machines: mechanical devices used to fasten stamps to correspondence
Aff O: (Fr.) with Foreign Legion cross, overprint for Tunisia, may be private issue
AFFP: Abyssinian Field Force Post Office; used 1869 on fieldpost envelopes
Affrancatura mista: (It.) mixed franking
Affranch: official mail overprint used as precancellation in Andorra, France, Monaco, and Morocco; also overprint on some French stamps issued to officials for government mail
Affranchi: (Fr.) stamped, prepaid
Affranchi ainsi faute figurine: handstamp overprint on Madagascar and Diego Suarez during shortage of low values, may be private issue
Affranchi a l’avance: (Fr.) pre-stamped
Affranchi mécaniquement: (Fr.) metered (mail)
Affranchir: (Fr.) to stamp, to frank
Affranchissemente: (Fr.) franking, postage
Affranchissemente de fortune: (Fr.) make-shift franking
Affranchissemente insuffusant: (Fr.) underfranked, insufficiently prepaid
Affranchissemente mécanique: (Fr.) meter mark, meter postage
Affranchissemente mixte: (Fr.) mixed franking
Affranchts: (Fr.) affranchissements, exempted from payment, pre-cancel marking on French stamps used for official or bulk mailings of business mail
Affreville: now Khemis Mil, Algeria; see: Algeria
Afganistan: (Swed.) Afghanistan
Afghan, Afghanes: Afghanistan
Afghanistan: central Asia, north and west of Pakistan; currency:12 shahi = 6 sanar; 3 abasi = 1 rupee (1871); 60 paisa = 2 kran = 1 rupee (1920); 100 puls = 1 afghani (rupee) (1926) post-18th century: unified state, 1871: issued first stamps as Kingdom of Kabul, 1881-1919: British domination, 1891-pre: no cancellations were available and issuing clerk tore or cut out a piece of the stamp to prevent reuse, 1891: first registration stamps, 1891-July 1973: stamps for the Kingdom of Afghanistan, 1907: regained its autonomy, 1909: first official, parcel post stamp issued, 1919: became independent, 1927: used inscription Afghan Postage, 1928, April 1: joined Universal Postal Union, used inscription Afghanes Postes, 1938, Dec. 22: first postal tax stamp issued, 1939, Oct.: first air mail stamp issued, 1952, July 12: first semipostal stamp issued, 1973, July 29: first issue as republic, used inscription, Afghan Post, 1978: Soviet coup overthrew government, 1979, Dec.: Soviet Union invaded nation, 1989: government stopped issuing stamps, 1989-92: Russian troops withdrew and rebels fought among themselves, 1997: Taliban, Islamic regime, occupied most of nation, 2002: Taliban driven out of power by U.S., other nations
Afgooye: inscription showing location of area depicted on 1980 stamp of Somalia
A. F. I. S.: (It.) Amministrazione Fiduciaria Italiana della Somalia (Italian Trusteeship of Somalia); Italian Somaliland
A.F.R.: Asociatia Filatelistilor din Romania (A.F.R)
A Free Montenegro: 1920; label for Government in Exile issue prepared for King Nicholas return from exile, never issued since he died before taking office
Africa: inscription on Portuguese territories 1898 issue
Africa correios: Portuguese territories overprint on the 1898 issue
Africa del Sur: (Sp.) South Africa
African and Malagasy Union: common theme on stamps of the French Community of Nations, 1962
Africa Occidental Espanola: (Sp.) Spanish West Africa inscription
Africa Orientale Italiana: (It.) Italian East Africa inscription
Africa, Portuguese: 1898: first commemorative stamp, 1919: first semi-postal stamp, 1945: first postage due stamp
African Postal Union: common theme on stamps of the French Community of Nations, 1963, 1967, 1971, 1973
Afrika: (Ger.) Africa
Afrika Corps label: used to control number of packages mailed to Germany by members of the Africa Corps forces in World War II; each individual was allowed two labels a month
Afrique: (Fr.) Africa
Afrique Central Anglaise: (Fr.) British Central Africa
Afrique del(du) Sud: (It., Fr.) South Africa
Afrique Equatoriale Franeaise: (Fr.) inscription on French Equatorial Africa
Afrique Equatoriale Franeaise: (Fr.) French Equatorial Africa overprint on stamps of Gabon, Middle Congo
Afrique Equatoriale Gabon: (Fr.) Gabon Equatorial Africa
Afrique Franeaise Combattante: (Fr.) French Equatorial Africa soldier surcharge; 1943: Red Cross semi-postals
Afrique Franeais Libre: (Fr.) Free French Equatorial Africa overprint and inscription
Afrique Occidental: (Fr.) Portuguese province, joined the UPU Jan. 1, 1922, left Nov. 11, 1975
Afrique Occidental Espagnole: (Fr.) Spanish West Africa
Afrique Occidental Espanola: (Sp.) Spanish West Africa
Afrique Occidental Franeaise: (Fr.) French West Africa; overprint: see: A.O.F
Afrique Occid le Française: (Fr.) inscription on postage due stamps of Senegal
Afrique Orientale: 1. (Fr.) German East Africa overprint; 1918: Belgian Congo Charity issue stamps. 2. (Fr.) Portuguese province joined the UPU Jan.1, 1922, left Oct., 11, 1978
Afrique Orientale Allemande: (Fr.) German East Africa
Afrique Orientale Anglaise: (Fr.) British East Africa
Afrique Orientale Italienne: (Fr.) Italian East Africa
Afrique Sud-Ouest Allemande: (Fr.) German South-West Africa
Afstempeling: (Dutch) canceled
Afwijking(en): (Neth.) variet(ies)
AG: Antigua and Barbuda, country code as used by UPU
A. G.: Attorney General, South Australia official overprint, 1868-74
Agäische Inseln: (Ger.) Aegean Islands
Agata: (It., Sp.) type size in printing, agate (color)
Agate: printing size of a type, 5 ½ point, called ruby in England
AGD: Accountant General’s Department; registry marking
AGDP: (It.) General Administration of the Posts; pre-stamp cancel, Kingdom of Two Sicilies
Agence postale: (Fr.) postal agency
Agencia filatelica oficial (AFO): (Sp.) Barcelona (Spain) Republican Government official philatelic agency
Agencia postal (AG.P.): (Sp.) sub-post office, postal agency
Agencia postal auxiliar (Ag.p.aux.): (Sp.) auxiliary postal agency, usually found on monastery cancels
Agencies consulaires: (Fr.) consular agencies; French Colony revenue inscription
Agentes de Corona: (Sp.) Crown Agents (Great Britain)
Agenti della Corona: (It.) Crown Agents (Great Britain)
Agency: 1: a commercial firm that promotes and sells the postal products of the country or countries it represents, 2: a post office maintained in one country’s territory by another country
Agents: individuals, acting on behalf of a post office, collected incoming mail and departure mail, or en route of a boat or train; may have used postal markings and entered items into the mail stream
Agentur: (Ger.) agency
Agenzia dei piroscafi Ottomania: (It.) Ottoman Steamship agency, Turkish Steamship Company, 1840-62
Agenzia dei vapori Ottomania: (It.) Ottoman Steamship agency, Turkish Steamship Company, 1840-62
Agets de la Couronne: (Fr.) Crown Agents ( Great Britain)
Aggstein, S.S.: steamship of the Danube Steam Navigation Company; 1890s: built for the upper Danube lines
Aging: an artificial test to determine the relative permanence of paper or other materials
AGO: Adjutant General’s Office, Canada
Agosto: (Port., Sp.) August (month)
Agotado: (Sp.) sold out
Agram: now Zagreb, Yugoslavia
Agramunt: local, Spanish civil war, Republican, 1937
Agrandi: (Fr.) enlarged
Agricoltura: (It., Sp..) agriculture, theme or topic
Agriculture, Dept. of: US inscription, official use
Agricultural: (Sp.) triangular stamps issued by Uruguay for farmers’ parcels, 1929
“A” Grill: one of several types of grills used in the 19th century, which covers the entire stamp. Example: Scott 79
Agrisado: (Sp.) grey (color)
Aguacaltes: overprint used on stamps of Mexico for this district during 1856-1883
Aguascalientes: District of Mexico; 1914: issued revolutionary provisional overprint “Gobierno Constitucionalista.”
Aguascaltes: used as a district overprint in Aguascalientes, 1856
Agüera, La: part of Spanish Sahara, Africa; 1920-1923: used Spanish Rio de Oro stamps overprinted “La Agüera,” 1924 stamps of Spanish Sahara
Águila: (Sp.) eagle
Aguilas: local Spanish civil war, Republican, 1937
Aguinaldo: Philippines, local revolutionary issue of 1898
Aguja: (Sp.) pin hole
Agujeritos: (Sp.) perfins
Ägypten: (Ger.) Egypt.Ah.-ausg. (Ger.) provisional issue
Ahmnos: Greece, Lemnos Islands
Ahnangsel: (Ger.) tab, attached
Ähnlich: (Ger.) similar, catalog usage
AHO: (Fr.) Armée Hollondaise for Austrian army; 1748: British Army handstamp, usually on mail from Belgium or Germany; carried by Thurn and Taxis to Belgium; see: Thurn and Taxis
A. H. PD: Angra, Horta, Ponta Delgado overprint on stamps of Azores, 1906
Ahu’a: bogus, fantasy stamp from Burma
Ahnängsel: (Ger.) tab (attached to a postage stamp)
Ahuesado: (Sp.) off-white (color)
AI: Anguilla, country code as used by UPU
Aidez les Tuberculeux: (Fr.) Tunisia surtax overprint semi-postal for tuberculosis
AIEP: “Association Internationale des Experts Philateliques” (International Association of Philatelic Experts)
A. I. F.: Australian Imperial Forces overprint
A.I.F. Australia, locals: 1: Beaudesert Tramway, 1906-42. 2: Brisbane Parcel Delivery, 1900s 3: Burdell & Co’s. Express, 1854. 4: Coolgardie Cycle Express,1894-96. 5: Herald & Weekly Times, 1920. 6: Murray Steam Navigation Co., 1872. 7: Pichi Richi railway, late 1980s. 8: Silverton Tramways, 1887-1960s. 9: Sydney Tramways. 10: Boxing Kangaroo, with boxing gloves; unissued Great Britain cinderella by David Horry, 2001
Aigle: (Fr.) eagle
Aigurande: local, provisional, French, 1944
Aiguafreda: local, Spanish civil war, Republican, Republican, 1937
Aihefilatelisti: Finnish language philatelic periodical from Finland
AIJP: Association Internationale des Journalistes Philateliques, International Association of Philatelic Journalists
Air: Canada, inscription for airmail
Air 6¢ Mail: overprint on the 2¢ regular and 2¢ Bi-Centennial envelopes of 1932 were revalued, in 1945 as a provisional air mail envelope due to shortage of embossed air mail envelopes
Air accident cover: British term for crash cover
Air card: card, of regulation size for postal use, carried by air
Air cover: an envelope which has been carried by air; known as a flown cover
Air Afrique: common design on stamps of the French Community of Nations, 1961-62, 1963, 1966
Aims of Industry: United Kingdom strike local post, 1971
Air Charters G.I.S.: United Kingdom strike local post, 1971
Air envelope: an envelope with a blue and red series of markings printed around the edges
Air Express: flown by the Air Express service operated by the Railway Express Agency (U.S. or Great Britain) for expedited delivery by air
Air express stamp: stamp, issued especially for prepayment of air delivery
Airgraph: microfilmed letter form used by British forces during WWII; established April 22, 1941 as a military service and later extended to civilian mail, discontinued in July 1945. Microfilm of original letter was flown, then enlarged and printed on a special form at its destination
Air hole flaw: flaw caused by an air hole in cooling metal stamp plates
Air label: labels inscribed “Par Avion” or equivalent that means by air; 1918, Aug. 17: France had the first example in black on red paper, 1922: U.P.U. adopted a standard blue color for these “etiquettes” for affixing to material carried by air
Air leaflets: propaganda leaflets dropped from balloons or airplanes
Air letter: see: Aerogramme
Air letter form: special letter sheet with, or without, impressed stamp, to facilitate the handling of airmail letters
Airlift: movement of mail by air taxi operators and air carriers
Airlift flight: flight carrying mail and supplies to inaccessible location due to blockade or enemy occupation of normal routes
Airlift for our Servicemen: inscription, Airlift stamp
Air Lift stamp: $1.00 U.S.1868 issue for shipping packages to service personnel overseas
Airmail: 1: official: first official airmail flew on Feb. 11, 1911 between Allahabad and Naini, India. 2: inscription on stamps of many nations for mail carried by air. 3: any form of mail transported by air
Air Mail Beacon: series of lights placed along air mail routes for safety and success of night flights; 1924
Airmail border: colored bands on cover border indicating airmail service
Air Mail covers: envelopes with imprinted or other postage stamps used for air mail service
Air Mail/De Pinedo/1927: overprint on stamp of Newfoundland to frank letters carried by Francesco De Pinedo on May 23 transatlantic flight
Air Mail Field: postal facility at an air mail field
Airmail flight: first U.S. private contract with mail flew from Detroit, Mich. to Cleveland, Ohio and Chicago, Ill. in 1926
Airmail flight cover: cover carried by air and postmarked at point of origin, departure or intermediate points on the route
Air Mail Indicator: British stamps with red and blue diagonal stripe to indicate air mail
Airmail labels: 1: Mozambique’s label had space for insertion of air mail fee, 1932. 2: labels used to mark letters or packages for shipment by air; also known as etiquettes
Air Mail Postal Card: a postal card intended for air mail usage
Air Mail rotary set: refers to the 1995 series from Panama issued to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of Rotary international
Air Mail Semi-Official Stamp: privately printed stamps used for private flights in balloons or planes
Air mail semi-postal stamps: air mail stamps used to raise money for charity
Airmail stamp: stamp intended to prepay airmail postage; the first recorded is the 25c rose Italian express stamp, 200,000 of which were overprinted in 1917; Flugpostmarke (Ger.), Timbre pour la Poste Aerienne (Fr.), Francobollo di Posta Aerea (It.), Sello de Correo Aereo (Sp.)
Air Mail Stamped Envelope: a stamped envelope intended to be used for air mail service
Air mail stamp, earliest U.S.: the 1918 Jenny series of three stamps
Airmail stamp, first: Italy issued an adhesive air mail stamp for the Turin-Rome flight on May 19, 1917
Airmail stamp, semi-official: issued privately, but accepted by the postal agency; the Canada Jack V. Elliot Air Services and others are examples
Air parcel post: started in 1948, lower rates made it a less extensive alternative for sending packages by air
Airplane: symbol overprint indicating airmail issues
Airport dedication cover: cover commemorating the opening of an airport
Airport International de Kabul: inscription on airmail stamp of Afghanistan
Airpost: Newfoundland inscription for airmail
Air Post: in Russian, used as an overprint for Imperial Russian consular tax stamps in 1922 applied to mail sentfrom Russia to Germany; see: Deruluft
Airship mail: 1: lighter-than-air (LTA) craft characterized by a rigid, covered framework, interior of which holds containment cells for the lifting gas, such as a Zeppelin. 2: non-rigid LTA craft, the form of which holds the lifting gas, such as a blimp
Airstream: British Post Office term for bulk mailings by air
Airway letter: flown by a private air letter service operated by an air-line
Airway Letter stamps: issued by British Airways for transporting letters between airports
Aitutaki: one of the Cook Islands, South Pacific; currency:12 pence = 1 shilling; 100 cents = 1 dollar (1972) dollar 1888: British protectorate, 1892-1903: used Cook Islands stamps, 1903, Jan.20: No. 1,1/2 penny green; Aitutaki overprint on stamps of New Zealand, used until 1932, 1920: distinct Aitutaki inscribed stamp issued, 1927, Aug.: last stamps issued inscribed Aitutaki, 1932-72: used Cook Island stamps, 1972, Apr.1: Cook Islands stamps withdrawn, 1972, Aug.7: Aitutaki overprint on stamps of Cook Islands, 1973: Aitutaki inscription on stamps,1974, Sept.9: first air mail stamp issued, 1974, Dec. 2: first semipostal stamp issued,1978: first official stamp issued, O.H.M.S. overprint
Aix-la-Chapelle: now Aachen, Germany; 1748: treaty ending the War of the Austrian Succession, signed giving Austria control of Belgium, Prince Anselme Franeois de Taxis made “General des Postes.”
Ajakiri: (Est.) Newspaper
Ajanlos, Ajl.1, Ajl.2, Alahlas: Hungary inscription for registered letters, 1946
Ajánlott levél: (Hung.)registered mail, certified mail
Ajans-Turk: printer of stamps of Turkey
Ajaria: province of Georgia, borders on Turkey; aka Adscharia and Adjarija
Ajedrez: (Sp.) chess thematic
Ajman: Ajman: one of the United Arab Emirates, Oman Peninsula on the Persian Gulf; currency:100 naye paise = 1 rupee (1964); 100 dirhams = 1 riyal (1967) 1892-1971: sheikdom under British protection, 1964, June 20: No. 1, 1 naye paise multi; first stamp issued, 1964-71: proliferation of more than 6,000 stamps issued, 1965: first air mail, official stamps issued, 1971, Dec. 2: joined the United Arab Emirates (UAE), 1971-post: Ajman stamps, overprinted “Manama” are not recognized by the government, 1972: UAE issues; Ajman issues post 1972 are not recognized
Ajman State: bogus issues for Ajman
Ajore: Albania airmail stamps
Ajouté: (Fr.) added
AJP: American Journal of Philately, USA
AK: 1: (Pol.) Armia Krajowa” 1944 Warsaw uprising set, local issue. 2: USPS abbreviation for Alaska
Akassa: city in Southern Nigeria; 1888 to 1899: handstamp on stamps of Great Britain by the Royal Niger Company
Akata: bogus, fantasy from the Philippines
Akd-hrvatski Tiskarski Zavod: printer of stamps of Croatia
Akhal: bogus issue, not valid for postage
Akhmin: Egypt, see: Interpostal seals, 1884
Akhtyirka: Russian town in Kharkov Oblast (now Ukraine) ca. 65 miles WNW of Kharkiv. Issued local Rural Post stamps (1872), Zemstvo Issues
Akko: formerly Acre, Israel
AKNA Barykadach: (Pol.) home army on the barricades, 1944, local issue
Akron Match Co.: private die match proprietary stamps
Aktiebolaget Produktion Service (APS): Swedish perforating machine that made pimples, which were then cut away in a lawn mower type action leaving perforated holes
Aktiebolaget Stadsposten: Stockholm – Aktiebolaget Stadsposten
Akyab: now Sittwe, formerly Burma, now Myanmar; see: Myanmar
AL: 1: Albania, country code as used by UPU. 2: USPS state abbreviation for Alabama
ALA: American Lung Association, appears on some Christmas seals
Ala.: abbreviation for Alabama prior to Zip Code usage
ALALC: on air mail stamp of Uruguay for the Asocoacion Latinoamericana de Libre Comercio (Sp.) Latin American Association for Free Trade
A la derecha: (Sp.) to the right
Alameda: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist,1937
Aland Islands: province of Finland; Gulf of Bothnia, between Finland and Sweden; official name of postal administration: Posten på Åland currency: 100 pennia = 1 Finnish marka (mk); 100 cents = 1 euro (2002) 1538: mail between Sweden and Finland went through Aland, 1901: Nicholas II of Russia decreed that all mail sent out of, including Alands, had to bear Russian stamps, 1918, Feb. 12: joined the UPU as part of Finland, 1921: awarded to Finland by the League of Nations, 1982, Feb. 5: nation had right to propose stamps to Finnish postal authorities, 1984, Mar.1: No.1, 10 pennia magenta; Aland stamps are not valid for postage in Finland. 1992: Aland assumed control of its own postage, 2001: stamps in Finnish markka valid through June 30, 2002, then changes to euros
Alan George and Co.: United Kingdom strike local post, 1971
Alanis: local, Spanish Nationalist, 1937
Alaouites, Alaquites: area part of Syria, Western Asia; currency:100 centimes = 1 piastre (1925) 1918-pre: Turkish territory, then occupied by French in 1918, 1920, Sept. 1: autonomous government, 1920-30: under French Mandate, 1925, Jan.1: No.1, 10 centimes violet-brown; air mail, postage due stamps; stamps of France surcharged Alaquites, 1925, Mar. 1: stamps of Syria overprinted Alaquites, 1925: first air mail and postage due stamps issued, 1930: renamed Latakia, 1931, July: first stamps as Latakia with “Lattaquie” overprint on stamps of Syria, 1936, Sept. 1: alloted to Syria, : 1937: stamps of Syria used, 1941: Latakia annexed by Syria; Latakia, Syria
Al Arabiyah as-Saudiyah: now Saudi Arabia; see: Saudi Arabia
Al-Araish: City in Morocco decreed a Cherifien Post town (1892), Larache
Alaska: no postal service while in Russian hands; 1867: US bought territory from Russia; first P.O. in Sitka, 1884: district of Oregon, 1897: Dyea, Alaska and Dawson City, Canada established international exchange, 1900s: dog sleds carried mail on inland routes
Alaska Carrier Pigeon Mail Service Company: pigeon service between the gold fields of Alaska, $1 and $2 values, 1896
Alaska Pacific Express Co.: used imprinted 2¢ envelope, to forward mail to Alaska
Alatyir: Russian town in Simbirsk Oblast (now Chuvash Rep., Russian Fed.) ca. 120 miles SW of Kazan. Issued local Rural Post stamps (1867, stamp usage discontinued in 1875), Zemstvo Issues
Alava: Basque province in Spain; issued its own stamps bearing the portrait of Don Carlos
Alavit: (Dan.) Alaouites
Alawiten: (Ger.) Alaquites
Alayor: local, Spanish civil war, Republican, 1937
Alb: 1. catalog abbreviation for album. 2. (Rom.) White (color)
Albacete: local, Spanish civil war, Republican, 1937
Al Bahrayn: now Bahrain; see: Bahrain
Albán: (Hung.) Albanian
Albán: (Hung.)Albanian
Albanez: (Rom.) Albanian (adj.)
Albania: southeastern Europe, bordering on Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea; currency: 40 paras = 1 piastre = grosch (1913); 100 qintar = 1 franc (1913); 100 centimes = 1 franc (1917), 100 qintar = 1 lek )19470, 100 old lek = 1 new lek (1965) 1861-81: under control of Turkey, Greece, 1870: Turkish stamps used; seven post offices, each with own handstamp, 1902-16: Italian stamps, Offices in Turkey, overprinted “Albania” with Turkish currency, 1909: each town, Durazzo, Scutari and Valona, received its own overprint, 1912, Nov. 28: declared its independence, 1913, Oct.-Nov: overprints on Turkey issues, 1913, June: No.1, 1 penny multi; first permanent stamp series, provisional government, 1914: Greece issued stamps for Epirus and Northern Epirus; overrun by various countries’ troops during WW I, Netherlands used stamps at Koritza (Korce, Korytsa) headquarters, Montenegro and Albania stamps postmarked for Scutari-Skador, Italy declared Albania an independent country, 1914, Feb. 23: first postage due stamp issued, 1914-18: Albania stamps used, 1915, Feb. 10: overprint in Arabic commemorating the day of capture of Dutch officers and cannons, 1919-28: became a republic, 1920: Albanian state established, 1922, March 1: joined the UPU, 1924, Nov.1: first semipostal stamp issued, 1925, Jan. 25: republic established by Ahmed Zogu, 1925, May 30: first air mail stamp issued, 1928, Sep.1: became a monarchy, 1939, March-1943: Italian occupation with stamps overprinted; “Constituent Assembly 12 IV 1939 XVII” for Albanian crown being offered to Italy, XVII is the 17th year of Fascist rule in Italy, 1940: special delivery stamp issued, 1940-42: Greece overprint for southern Albania (North Epirus), 1943-44: Italian stamps overprinted for German occupation, with some cities issuing their own stamps, 1944: provisional government established, 1945: Italian occupation stamps overprinted for new republic: Qeverija Demokrat (ike) E Shqiperise 22-X-1944, 1946, Jan.: stamps issued as a People’s Socialist Republic of Albania, 1991, April: Albanian People’s Republic; Mbledhja Kushtetuëse, Shtator
Albania: “Komitetit te Qindreses” series of cinderellas usually with political leaders
Albánia: (Hung.) Albania
Albania centrale: Essad Pasha local stamps issued in central Albania, 1915
Albania, Free: bogus, government in exile, 1945-60s
Albania government in exile: bogus, freedom movement in exile, 1945-60s
Albanie: (Fr.) Albania
Albánie: (Czech.) Albanian
Albanien: (Cech., Dan., Ger., Nor., Swed.) Albania
Albany, Ga. 5 Paid: see: Confederate Postmasters’ Provisionals
Albany Letter Express: fantasy label by S. Allan Taylor, 1865
Albansk: (Dan., Nor., Swed.) Albanian
Albanske skeppspost: (Swed.) Albanian ship mail (ship post)
Albanske skibspost: (Dan.) Albanian ship mail (ship post)
Albanske skipspost: (Nor.) Albanian ship mail (ship post)
Albánsky: (Czech.) Albania
Albastra: (Rom.) Blue (color)
Albastru: (Rom.) blue (color)
Albastru-cobalt: (Rom.) cobalt blue (color)
Albastru-gri: (Rom.) blue-grey (color)
Albastrui: (Rom.) bluish (color), Azurat
Albastru-metalic: (Rom.) steel blue (color)
Albastru-negricios: (Rom.) blackish-blue (color)
Albastru-verzui: (Rom.) greenish-blue (color)
Albastru-violet: (Rom.) violet-blue, lilac-blue (color)
Albert Meyer Express Packet: (Ger.) private parcel carrier, Leipzig and 69 other cities, Germany, 1880s
Albicios: (Rom.) Whitish
Albino: without color, die impression on a stamp or stamped envelope where the ink has not been transferred to the paper
Albino impression: occurs when two sheets of paper are fed into the printing press at the same time; the top sheet receives the full imprint and the lower sheet shows evidence of the indented impression, or when paper passes through while press is not inked or there is an obstruction
Albo: (Sp.) album
Ålborg: (or Aalborg, anc. Alburgum), commercial seaport and capital of Nordjylland county ca. 135 miles NW of Copenhagen, Denmark. Local post established by C. J. Als, with first “Aalborg Bypost” lithographed local stamps issued 23 February 1884, and with numerous others issued through 1889
Albox: local, Spanish civil war, Republican, 1937
Albrecht, S.S.: steamship of the Danube Steam Navigation Company; 1850s: built for the lower Danube lines
Album: book designed to hold stamps or covers
Albumblatt: (Ger.) album page
Album de Timbres-Poste: (Fr.) stamp album
Albumen: (Ger.) light-sensitizing process of plate in printing process
Album para Sellos: (Sp.) stamp album
Album per Francobolli: (It.) stamp album
Album Weeds: title of series of pamphlets on forged stamps, written in the 19th century, by Rev. R. Brisco Earee; name came from a weed that appears in the midst of a green lawn
ALC: Adam L. Chapman, BEP employee initials, 1906-1928; Plate Finisher, Siderographer
Alcala la Real: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist, 1937
Al Canaveral: (Sp.) (place of canes) inscription on postal stationery envelopes provided by the Cuban government for use by urban residents transported each year to work in the sugarcane harvest
Alcance Y. U. H.: Uruguay inscription for late fee, 1936
Alcaniz: local, Spanish civil war, Republican, 1937
Alcantarilla: local, Spanish civil war, Republican, 1937
Alcaucin: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist, 1937
Alcazar: (or Alcazarquiver, now Ksar el Kebir) City in Morocco on the Mekinez-Tangier railroad line ca. 105 miles NE of Rabat. Cherifien post town by Sultan’s 1892 decree. Used distinctive octagonal handstamp for mails carried by runners, Cherifien Posts
Alcazar de Cervantes: local, Spanish civil war, Republican, 1937
Alcazar-Ouzzan: French local post in Morocco, 1896-97
Alcazar-Wazan: Spanish local post in Morocco, 1897
Alcira: local, Spanish civil war, Republican, 1937
Alcoholes: (Sp.) liquors; Spanish Morocco revenue inscription
Alcools: (Fr.) alcohol, liquors; French Colony revenue inscription
Alcover: local, Spanish civil war, Republican, 1937
Alcoy: local, Spanish civil war, Republican, 1937
Alcudia de Carlet: local, Spanish civil war, Republican, 1937
ALC: topical association abbreviation for air letter card
Aldabra, Kingdom of: bogus, atoll north of Assumption Island
Aldea de Ascaso: local, Spanish civil war, Republican, 1937
Alderney: English Channel Island, Guernsey Dependency; 1958: Guernsey regional issues for franking of packages carried between the island and Guernsey, 1969: issued stamps for Alderney, 1983: first stamps; usually at the rate of one set per year, many local post items exist
Al dorso: (Sp.) back, as opposed to the front of a philatelic object
Aledschen, Alsedziai: Lithuanian city; 1941: German military overprint on Russian stamps “Laisa/Alsedziai/24-VI-41.”
Aleksandrów: (Pol.) City ca. 4 miles NE of Lodz. Produced 29 mm diameter postpaid “10 fen” local City Post (violet) handstamp inscribed “Poczta Miejska w Aleksandrowie” (1915/1918)
Alemania: (Sp.) Germany
Alemania Oriental: (Sp.) East Germany
Alende: Mexican district provisional, 1914
Aleppo: also known as Haleb, Syria
Alerta: Peruvan district with hand written surcharge, 1884
Alessandria: Syria, Egypt, 1864-84, see: Interpostal seals
Ålesund: (or Aalesund) seaport city in Møre og Romsdal county, W Norway, on an island between Bergen and Trodheim ca. 245 mile NNW of Oslo. Local post established by H. S. Oyen, with first “Bypost-Friemærke / Aalesund” lithographed on colored papers local stamps issued 6 December 1880, and with various others issued through 15 December 1884. Used examples are found with the cancellations of the Norwegian post Office Dept
Alexander’s Matches: private die match proprietary stamps
Alexanderstadt: Ukranian city; 1941-42: Russian stamps overprinted/surcharged by the Germans “16.8.41/B.ALEX.”
Alexander, W. and Sons: United Kingdom strike local post, 1971
Alexandretta: Northern Syria, bordering on Turkey; 1918-38: Versailles treaty mandates territory to France, 1938: stamps of Syria overprinted “Sandjak d’Alexandrette,” 1938: name changed to Hatay, 1939: stamps of Turkey surcharged for Hatay, see: Hatay, 1939: territory returned to Turkey
Alexadretta: now known as Skenderum, Turkey
Alexandrette: city in the Province of Syria; French post office in Ottoman Empire opened October 1852, closed 1889; reopened 1893, closed Aug. 1914
Alexandria: 1: Virginia, USA, local Postmaster Provisional used in 1846. 2: also known as El Skandariya, Egypt. 3: (now Alexandriya) Russian town in Kherson Oblast (now Ukraine) ca. 45 miles ENE of Kirovohrad. Issued numerous local Rural Post stamps (1872-1888, the local post being suppressed in 1906), Zemstvo Issues. 4: bogus issue from 1860s featuring an elephant. 5: Egypt, local, 1888? 6: city in Egypt; 1830-1931, Mar. 31: French Post Office handled mail brought in by mail boats, 1899-pre: regular French issues used, 1899-1930: French stamps with “Alexandrie” overprint used
Alexandria Blue Boy: Postmaster’s Provisional, Scott 1X2, 5¢ black on blue paper, Alexandria, Va. Postmaster issue
Alexandria Steamship Agency: local, Levant, 1886
Alexandrie: (Fr.) 1899-1900 overprint used in French Offices in Egypt; see: Alexandria
Alexandrien: (Ger.) Alexandria
Alexandroupolis: city in Greece used French stamps; 1893-1903: Turkey named city Dedeagh, issued occupation stamps, 1913: Greece changed name to Dedeagatch, issued occupation stamps; see: Dedeagh
ALF: see: Automatic letter facing machine
Alfabetizacion: Ecuador overprint for Adult Education
Alfarnate: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist, 1937
Alfarnatejo: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist, 1937
ALFSEA: Allied Land Forces South East Asia
Alforja: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist, 1937
Algarinejo: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist, 1937
Algarismo: (Port.) figure, numeral
Algarrobo: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist, 1937
Algatocin: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist, 1937
Algeciras: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist, 1937
Algerian red: cinderella used in movie “The Truth About Charlie” a remake of “Charade.”
Algeriet: (Swed.) Algeria
Algerisk: (Swed.) Algerian
Alldex Agencies E.P.S.: United Kingdom strike local post, 1971
Allen National P.S.: Alan George and Co.: United Kingdom strike local post, 1971
Al-Saudia: overprint on stamps of Hejaz, territory located today in Saudi Arabia
Argelia: (Sp.) Algeria
Algemesi: local, Spanish civil war, Republican, 1937
Alger: also known as Algiers or El Djezair, Algeria
Alger’s Express: private local parcel, serviced Mass.; label, 1875
Algeria: French colony in North Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea; currency: 100 centimes = 1 franc (1924-64); 100 centimes = 1 Algerian dinar (1964) 1749: postal mark used in Spanish-occupied Oran, 1830: military post offices opened, used military handstamps, 1835: post offices opened to public, 1839: town names and dates issued to post offices, 1849: stamps of France used, 1907, Oct. 1: joined the UPU, 1924: No.1, 1 centime dark grey; stamps of France overprinted Algérie, 1924: first newspaper stamp issued, 1926: Republique Francaise Algerie (RF) replaced Algerian stamps, 1926: first postage due stamp issued, 1927: first semipostal stamp issued, 1946: first air mail stamp issued, 1958, Sept.1: became part of France, 1958-62: stamps of France used, 1962, July 3: Algeria became independent as Democratic/Popular Republic of Algeria
Algérie: (Fr.) overprint and inscription on stamps of France for Algeria
Algérienne: (Fr.) Algerian
Algeriet: (Swed.) Algeria
Algerisk: (Swed.) Algerian
Algier: (Ger.) Algeria
Algiers: also known as Alger or El Djezair, Algeria
Algimia de Alfara: local, Spanish civil war, Republican, 1937
Alguna: (Sp.) couple (a pair)
Alhama: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist,1937
Alhama de Murcia: local, Spanish civil war, Republican,, 1937
Alhaurin de la Torre: local, Spanish Nationalist, , 1937
Alhaurin el Grande: local, Spanish Nationalist, 1937
Alhucema: (Sp.) lavender (color)
Alicante: local, Spanish civil war, Republican,, 1937
Alice in Wonderland: labels made by Gerald M. King, 1965, 34 values and two varieties
Alina: local, Spanish civil war, Republican,, 1937
Al-Jadida: (or El Jadida) City in Morocco decreed a Cherifien Post town (1892), Mazagan
Å.L.K.: Åbo Läns Kustångbåts Ab: (Fin.) local post for use on steamships carrying mail, Finland, 1890s
Alkaline reserve: the presence of calcium carbonate or other alkaline material in paper capable of neutralizing acids as they are formed
Alkalmi Bélyegzéssel: (Hung.) special cancellation
Alkazar kebir: (Sp.) municipal tax stamps, revenue issue
Al Khums: also known as Homs, Libya
Al Kuwayt: also known as Kuwait
Allan Line: had contract to carry mail between Canada and England, 1855, operated as Montreal Steamship Co
Allao: caused by overinking of “Callao” on stamps of Peru
Alleinflug: (Ger.) solo flight
Allemagne: (Fr.) Germany
Allemagne de l’Est: (Fr.) East Germany
Allemagne de l’Ouest: (Fr.) West Germany
Allemagne Duitschland: (Dut.) Germany occupation overprint on stamps of Belgium, 1919-21
Allemagne Rep. Fed. de: (Fr.) Germany, Federal Republic of
Allemand: (Fr.) German
Allende: bogus, Mexican district issued a provisional in 1941 on the 50¢ 1910 issue
Allen & Co.’s Express: local post, serviced Boston, Bradford and Haverhill, Mass., used a label, year unknown
Allen’s City Dispatch: U.S. local post, Chicago, Ill., 1882
Allen’s, J. J. Sons: private die match proprietary stamps
Allen, Ralph: (1694-1794) received a G. B. contract in 1720 to carry all By Post and Cross Post letters with a regular service of three times a week at a speed of not less than five miles per hour; see: By Post, Cross Post
Allenstein: area in East Prussia; currency: 100 pfennig = 1 mark post-WW II: administered by the Allies, 1920, April 3: Germany district used stamps of Germany overprinted “Plebiscite Olsztyn/Allenstein,” 1920, July 11: No.1, 5 pfennigs green; became part of the German Republic, 1920, Aug. 20: stamps of Germany used, 1945: occupied by Soviet Union, then transferred to Poland, known as Olsztyn
Allen, Thos.: private die match proprietary stamps
Allewelt: (Ger.) whole world
Allgemein-sammler: (Ger.) general collector
Allied Military Government (AMG): system of civil administration established by Allies towards the end of WW II as enemy-occupied territory was occupied; various stamps and overprints in different languages indicate the occupation
Allied Military Government Stamps: AMG stamps for use in Austria, France, Germany and Italy after WW II
Allied Military Post: stamps used by British and American zones; 1946: three general issues, same design; America (Bureau of Engraving and Printing); Britain (Harrison & Sons Ltd.) and Germany (G. Westermann)
Allied Military Postage: inscription for Allied Military Government, 1945-46
Alliert: (Ger.) allied
Alliert Besetzung: (Ger.) allied occupation
Alligator Match Company: private die match proprietary stamps
Allonge: (Ger.) blank perforated area, attached to a stamp
All-over cachet: design that covers the envelope face
All-over watermark: one pattern that covers the entire sheet of stamps
All purpose cachet: general design that is applicable to various events
All-purpose dating stamp: red ink handstamping device for imprinting the date, name of city, and the post office branch or station on registered mail and nonmail items such as receipts, USPS term
All Russian Disabled Soldiers Relief Committee: charity label to raise money for former Red Army soldiers, 1921-1930, inscription in English for stamps sold in America
Allseitig: (Ger.) on all sides, catalog description
All Souls College: Great Britain local post,1884
Allumettes: (Fr.) matches; French Colony revenue inscription
All-up service: 1937 British Empire plan to transport all first-class mail via air at no extra charge; discontinued due to World War II, blue airmail label was not required; South Africa pioneered the concept and sold special post cards at the Empire Exhibition in 1936 which could be flown to any part of the world for 1/2d
Almachar: local, Spanish Nationalist, 1937
Almaden de la Plata: local, Spanish Nationalist, 1937
Al Madinah: also known as Medina, Saudi Arabia
Almaguer: bogus, Colombia, fake Postmaster Provisional
Almanac: British revenue stamps for use in America, 1765-66
Al Manamah: also known as Manama, Bahrain
Almansa: local, Spanish civil war, Republican,, 1937
Almargen: local, Spanish Nationalist, 1937
Almazora: local, Spanish civil war, Republican,, 1937
Almeria: local, Spanish civil war, Republican,, 1937
Almindelig post: (Dan.) surface mail
Al Mittente: (It.) (return) to sender
Almond Private P.S.: United Kingdom strike local post, 1971
Alternative Del.-Birm.: United Kingdom strike local post, 1971
Alternative Del.-Kent: United Kingdom strike local post, 1971
Al mittenti: (It.) (return) “to sender.”
Almogia: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist,1937
Almohadilla de Entintar: (Sp.) ink pad
Almoradi: local, Spanish civil war, Republican,, 1937
Al Mukha: also known as Mocha, Yemen Arab Republic
Almunecar: local, Spanish Nationalist,, 1937
Alofi Island: see: New Caledonia
Alora: local, Spanish Nationalist,, 1937
Alozaina: local, Spanish Nationalist, 1937
Alpandeire: local, Spanish Nationalist, 1937
Alpha: name given to flaws in the bicolored stamps of Denmark, 1870-85
Alphabet letters: letters on issues of Great Britain starting in1858; letters were placed in all four corners, those in the upper portion of the stamp being the same as those in the upper corners, but in reverse order
Alphabetizacion/Alphabetisation: (Sp., Fr.) Mexico and Haiti inscription to raise funds for the campaign against illiteracy
Alsace: French province; 1940: stamps of Germany overprinted “Elsass” (German occupation for Alsace), 1941-44: German stamps used, 1944-45: French (Allied Military Government) stamps used
Alsace and Lorraine: French border provinces; 1870-71: annexed by North Germany after Franco-Prussian War, 1870-72: provisional issue by Prussian army,1872-1918: regular German stamps used, 1918-39: French stamps reissued, 1920s: mourning label issued by German stamp dealer Sigmund Hartig, 1940-41: occupied by Germany, stamps of Germany overprinted “Lothringen” (German Occupation of Lorraine), 1942, Jan. 1: regular German stamps used, 1944-45, Jan.: reoccupied by France
Alsacia-Lorena: (Sp.) Alsace-Lorraine
Als Postsendung Nicht Befördert: (Ger.) “Not to be carried as mail” handstamps for handback service only
Als Voren: (Neth.) similar lot
Alt: (Ger.) old
Alta Express Co.: private local post serviced west coast; used a label, 1857
Alta Italia: local, Italian liberation, 1944
Altai, Altaj, Altay: illegal labels, purporting to be stamps, as per Jan. 14, 2002 Russian Federation report to the UPU; local post overprint and stamps, 1993, not valid for postage
Altar: city in Mexico, name used in oval marking indicates postage due
Altbrief: (Ger.) pre-philatelic letter, stampless cover
Altea: local, Spanish civil war, Republican,, 1937
Altenburg: local, courier, German, 1893-1900
Alterar: (Sp.) to alter or change
Alterare: (It.) to alter or change
Alteration: an attempt to change the identifying characteristics of a stamp by the addition or removal of design or perforation or by changing the characteristics of the paper
Altération: (Fr.) fading (color); falsification (stamp)
Altére: (Fr.) faded, dimmed (color)
Altered relief: repair of design damage
Alternate cancel: any First Day cancellation from the official First Day city, other than the official First Day USPS postmarks
Alternate delivery services: deliveries that do not require a letter carrier, such as post office box service, general delivery, carrier service and firm holdout, USPS term
Alternative addressing format: includes congressional franked mail, occupant address, simplified addresses and exceptional addresses, USPS term
Alternative fuel vehicles (AFV): USPS term for vehicles that run on natural gas, electricity and grain-based fuels
Alternative Perforating System (APS): perforating machine made by Swedish firm that caused pimples, which were then cut away in a lawnmower type action leaving perforated holes
Alternative Philately: collateral material other than regular postage stamps; such as cinderellas, fantasies, etc
Alerta: see: Ancachs
Altai: bogus issue, not valid for postage
Alto: (Sp., It.) high as in high values, top
Alto: copper shell, when removed in the printing process, leaves a relief copy of the design
Alto commissariato: (It.) top, head commission; 1940: Italian overprint on stamps of Yugoslavia for Lubiana
Aluiten: (Ger.) Alaouites
Altona: local, German, 1865, 1888-89, 1892, 1898-1900
Alum: aluminum sulfate, an acid salt used to retain rosin sizing in paper. Alum is acidic when dissolved in water and is a primary source of acid in paper
Aluminum foil: bonded to paper to form a laminate that bears the stamp design
Aluminum plates: thin metal plates used for offset printing
Alum solution: used as a wash in printing plate manufacture
Al verse: (Fr.) back, as opposed to the front of a philatelic object
Alvey, John Durham: postmaster to the Revolutionary Army, 1775-83; heirs had to sue for back salary
Alwar: India (Native) Feudatory State; also known as Rajasthan or Rajputana; 1877: No.1, 1/4 anna ultra; issued its own local post stamps, now part of India, 1902: separate stamps discontinued, 1950, Apr. 1: replaced by stamps of the Republic of India
AM: : 1: Axia Metallikior, value in coin Greece overprint 1900, inscription in 1902. 2: auction abbreviation for aviation topical. 3: Armenia, country code as used by UPU
Amani: India States term for collection of revenue by government servants
Amarelo: (Port.) yellow (color)
Amarillo: (Sp.) yellow (color)
Amarillo cromo: (Sp.) chrome yellow (color)
Amatongaland: see: Union of South Africa
Amazonia: bogus, Brazil, connected with the bogus state of Counani, 1901
Amb Asc.: (Sp.) “ambulante ascendente” postmark for trains going up the line
Amb Desc.: (Sp.) “ambulante descendente” postmark for trains going down the line
Ambon: local overprint, Japan Naval Control, 1942-45
Ambulance bag: general term to describe a range of bags used to enclose damaged mail by the postal service
Ambulance cover: envelope used to carry and deliver a severely damaged piece of mail such as a crash cover
Ambulante: (Fr., Bel.) poste ambulante overprint on stamps of Belgium and France used for a mobile post office
Ambulance laquintinie: surtax overprint for Free French Army ambulances; 1941: with value in francs, for Cameroun
AMC: The Air Mail Collector
AMC/F: airport mail center/facility, USPS term
AMDO: Army Mail Distribution Office
Ameca: local provisional, Mexico, 1870
Ameixa: (Port.) plum (color)
Americana: theme collectors topic for American subjects commemorated on postal items
American Air Mail Society (AAMS): formed in 1926 from the Aero Philatelic Society of America, USA
American Bank Note Company: New York printers of postage stamps incorporated on May 1, 1858 by Mssrs. Rawdon, Wright, Hatch and Edson
American Bank Note Holographics: produced hologram patches for US postage stamps
American Ceremony Program Society (ACPS): members collect USPS first day, supplemental (second day or later), invitations, official souvenirs and presentation albums
American Colonial post offices: established in Boston, Mass., 1639
American Commemorative Cancellations: as of May 2002, USPS name for first-day souvenir page programs
American Commemorative Collections: as of May 2002, USPS name for first-day ceremony programs
American Delivery Co.: local post serviced Boston, Mass., used a label, 1910
American Design Series: USPS definitive stamp series started in 2002 with the Toleware coil
American District Package & Baggage Express: local post; used a label, year unknown
American District Telegraph Co.: local post serviced New York City, used stamps; 1880s-1900s
American European Express Co.: private parcel delivery firm that serviced eastern U.S. and European cities; used a label, year unknown
American Expeditionary Forces: World War I American European forces had two different stamp booklets, each containing panes of 30 stamps
American Express Company: U.S. local post, New York, N.Y., used stamps, corner cards and labels, 1850-1918
American Express Co., Louisville, Ky: carried mail “across the lines” during the American Civil War
American Fusee Company: private die match proprietary stamps
American Guideline Society: forerunner of the United States Stamp Society
American Letter Express Co.: carried mails from the North addressed to the South during the Civil War
American Letter Mail Co.: U.S. local post, 1844, N.Y., Philadelphia and Boston, earliest adhesive stamp to pay postage between cities; earliest use of “fancy” cancels
American Match Company: private die match proprietary stamps
American Merchants Union Express Company: local post, used stamps and labels, 1868-73
American Military Government Stamps: stamps issued by Allied Military Government after WW II for use in Austria, France, Germany and Italy
American National Retail Jewelers Association: poster stamp promoting a convention in Providence, R.I
American Packaging Corp.: subcontractor to Sennett Security Products for gravure printing
American Philatelic Association: former name of the American Philatelic Society
American Philatelic Center: new home in Bellefonte, PA, of the American Philatelic Society and the American Philatelic Research Library
American Philatelic Expertizing Service: APS service that gives opinions on the genuineness of stamps and covers
American Philatelic Research Library: library of the American Philatelic Society, APS, located in State College, Pa
American Philatelic Society: largest stamp organization in the U.S
American Pneumatic Service Co.: local post, serviced Boston, Mass., used labels; 1902-07
American Postal Machine Co.: manufacturer of cancelling machines used from the 1880s to the 1940s
American Postal Workers Union: union represents clerks and similar employees who work inside U.S. post offices; with headquarters in Washington, D. C
American Red Cross: inscription on Christmas labels
American Samoa: part of Gilbert and Ellice islands; 1900: America accepted control over the eastern islands, British and Germans over Western Samoa; mail from the islands can be recognized from the postmark
American Shippers, Inc.: private parcel delivery firm, used stamps, area and years unknown
American Treasures: series of U.S. stamps, stared in 2001 with the Amish Quilt series to illustrate existing art masterpieces
American Zone: British, Russian and American occupying powers; 1946-48: one issue, overprinted with pattern of posthorns, for occupation of Germany, 1948-49: “Deutsche Post” inscription used
Americká Samoa: (Czech.) American Samoa
Americky: (Czech.) American
Amerika: (Czech., Dan, Nor., Swed.) America
Amerikai: (Hung.) American
Amerikai Egyesült Államok: (Hung.) United States of America
Amerikanischer druck: (Ger.) American printing, refers to the Allied Military Government stamps for Germany printed in Washington, D.C. by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Amerikansk (Dan., Nor., Swed.) American
Amerikansk militärpost: (Swed.) United States field post office
Amerikanske skeppspost: (Swed.) United States ship mail (ship post)
Amerikanske skibspost: (Dan.) United States ship mail (ship post)
Amerikanske skipspost: (Nor.) United States ship mail (ship post)
Amerikanske Sone: (Nor.) American Zone
Amerikanske Zon: (Swed.) American Zone
Amerikanske Zone: (Dan.) American Zone
Amerikánsk Jomfruøerne: (Dan.) U. S. Virgin Islands (USVI)
Amerikansk Militärpost: em>(Swed.) United States field post office
Amerika-Suomalainen Legiona (ASL): American-Finns Legion; inscription for free mail for American troops fighting with the Finnish forces
Ameripex ’86: once-per-decade stamp exhibition held in Chicago in 1986
Amérique: (Fr.) America
AMERN: American, used on South American packet boats
AMET: The Air Mail Entire Truth
Ametralladora: (Sp.) Spanish civil war machine gun military company
A M F: 1. Air Mail Field, used in airport postal facilities, 2. ACE (Allied Commaand Europe) Mobile Force
AMG: Allied Military Government,1945-46, for civilian use in areas under Allied occupation, first issues Mar. 19, 1945, used only in American and British zones, French and Russian issued their own occupation stamps
A. M. G. F.T.T.: Allied Military Government Free Territory of Trieste; 1947-54:Zone A, Italy, Trieste overprint on stamps of Italy
A.M.G. V.G.: Allied Military Government Venezia Guilia; (Trieste), 1945-47: overprint on stamps of Italy, Allied Occupation of Venezia Guilia, replaced only for Trieste after Paris Peace Treaty in 1947 by A.M.G. F.T.T., A.M.G. F.T.T
A.M.G.O.T.: Allied military Government Occupied Territories
Amgraph Inc.: subcontractor to Westvaco Envelope Division for offset patches
Amgraph Packaging Inc.: offset lithography printer for USPS
AMG travel permit stamps: used as fee receipts on post-World War II documents for persons entering and leaving Allied-occupied Germany, 1945
Amiel Sima: automatic stamp vending machine initiated by Finland in 2001, uses a M over K for mark
Amiens: French city; 1909, May 13-19: issued local provisionals issued by the Chamber of Commerce during a strike by postal employees
Amil: India States term for contract revenue collector
Aminci: (Fr.) thinned
Amincissement: (Fr.) thinning, thin spots
Amir-i-sadak: India States term for officer with jurisdiction over a hundred revenue officials
Amiraute: (Fr.) admiralty
Amis and Amants: bogus, Donald Evans issue, South Pacific Islands about friendship and love
AMM-M from FC: boxed marking on diplomatic pouch mail indicating Division of Administrative Services-Mail- from Foreign Country
AMO: Admiralty Mail Office
Amora: bogus, advertisement created to sell chocolates on Valentines Day
Amorcé: (Fr.) encased (stamps)
Amoy: (now Xiamen or Hsia-men) Seaport in Fujian province in SE China on two islands in Taiwan Strait ca. 140 miles W of Taiwan. One of the five original Chinese Treaty Ports granted to Great Britain (1842). Hong Kong stamps used in Amoy are identified by the vertical “A1” (1859-1867) and horizontal “D.27″ (1876-1884) numerical obliterator cacellations, or by the two different single-ring or one double-ring ” AMOY” circular datestamps (1867-1922), Chinese Treaty Ports
Amplio: (Sp.) ample or full, as in full margins
AM POST, M in oval: Allied Military Post inscription; 1945-46: first issue of stamps after World War II in Germany
Amposta: local, Spanish civil war, Republican,, 1937
AM Post/Deutschland: Allied military government issue, Germany 1945-46
Am. (American) Rapid Tel. Co.: U.S. telegraph stamps issued for use on own firm’s telegrams,1881
AMSD: Air Mail Special Delivery
Amstar Co. Inc.: stamp printer for Philippines
Amsterdao: (Port.) Portugal overprint to raise funds for Olympic team to go to Amsterdam
A M T: (Ger.) office
Amtlich: (Ger.) official (post)
Amtliche ausgaben: (Ger.) official issues
Amtlich eroffnet durch die k.w. postdirection: (Ger.) German States official stamps for returned letters; Württemberg inscription
Amtlicher verkehr: (Ger.) inscription of the official (dienst) stamps; 1881-1919: Württemberg
Amtlich geöffnet bei der Devisenkontrolle: (Ger.) opened by the office for the control of currency, label used to reseal mail after being opened to check enclosure for currency, 1939
Amtlicher neudruck: (Ger.) official reprint
Amtschreiben: (Ger.) official letter
Amundsen Harbor: bogus, Antarctic fantasy
Amure: Russian inscription; 1929, Feb.: for autonomous administration at Blagovestchansk, Amur province
Amur, Amur Province: Siberia USSR province; 1921: People’s Revolutionary Committee stamps; also bogus issues exist; ended when Far Eastern Republic founded in same year
Amurskaya: illegal labels, purporting to be stamps, as per Jan. 14, 2002 Russian Federation report to the UPU; local post overprint and stamps, not valid for postage
AN: 1: 1900: duplex canceller inscription used at St. Kitts sub-post office in Anguilla. 2: auction abbreviation for topical animals. 3: Netherlands Antilles, country code as used by UPU. 4. Turkey overprint; Annas, currency unit
Anachron, State of: bogus, Artistamps, dinosaur hunting stamps
Anaglyptography: a process that produces an illusory 3-D effect such as hologram stamps
Analogo: (It.) similar
Analogue: (Fr.) similar
Ananief: Russian town in Kherson Oblast (now Ukraine). Issued local Rural Post stamps (1875-1896), Zemstvo Issues
Anaranjado: (Sp.) orange (color)
ANARE: Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions; 1947-65: mail antarctic expedition
Anatolia: Turkey in Asia; 1920: Turkish revenue stamps overprinted by Nationalist Government revolutionaries, 1923: Turkish republic formed and stamps of Turkey used
Anbefale, anbefalet: (Dan.) register, registered
Anbefalelsesmærke: (Dan.) registration stamp
Anbefalelsesseddel: (Dan.) registration label, registration etiquette
Anbefalet brev, anbefalede breve: (Dan.) registered letter, registered letters
Anbefalingsbebyr: (Dan.) registration
Anbetalet Brev: (Den.) Registered Letter
Anbieten: (Ger.) to offer
Ancachs: Hairez, Peru postal district; overprint “Franca” used in 1884; see: A Certo
Anchal: “Postage” used on Travancore-Cochin, Indian Feudatory State
Ancho: (Sp.) broad, as in wide margins
Anchor: watermark used in issues of Great Britain and Colonies
Anchor: 1: rivets, nails and screws used to secure the subject of a stamp to its wooden or metal mount; usually at non-printing height. 2: colored flaw caused by the inking and printing of an anchor rivet, nail or screw
Ancien: (Fr.) old, early, former
Anciens Combattants: War Veterans, Tunisia overprint
Ancillary label: labels attached for commemorative purposes, not valid for postage
Anciliary service endorsement: marking used by a mailer to request the new address of an addressee and to provide USPS with instructions on how to handle mail that is undeliverable as addressed, USPS term
Ancillary marking: marking applied to a cover to indicate additional assistance to allow its delivery
Ancla: (Sp.) anchor, watermark used in issues of Great Britain and Colonies
Ancora: (It.) anchor, watermark used in issues of Great Britain and Colonies
Ancre: (Fr.) anchor, watermark and cancel used in issues of Great Britain and Colonies
And.a alta: (Sp.) nineteenth century Spanish postmark
Andalusia: eight provinces of Spain, issued stamp in 1868-70 by a provisional government
Andaman & Nicobar Islands: part of India, twin island groups; when occupied by Japan in World War II, 1942-45, Indian stamps were overprinted by occupiers
Andenkelblock: (Ger.) souvenir sheet
Ändern: (Ger.) to change, alter
Anders: (Ger.) otherwise
Anderson C.(Court) H.(House) S.C. Paid 5: see: Confederate Postmasters’ Provisionals
Anderung: (Ger.) alteration
Andorra: independent state between France and Spain, no postage charge for internal mail; currency: 100 centimos = 1 peseta, 100 centimes = 1 French franc = 1 Spanish peseta, 100 cents = 1 euro, 1928-pre: stamps of Spain or France used, 1928: No.1, 2 centimos olive-green; Spanish post service established, overprint “Correos Andorra,”1929, Nov. 25: first stamps issued, 1931, June 16: French post service established, postage due French stamps overprint “Andorre,” both nations’ stamps accepted as postage; Affranch. 1931 June 16: No.1, 1 centime gray: first postage due stamp (French) issued, 1932-42: used inscription Andorra, Vallees d’, 1950, Feb. 20: first air mail stamp (French) issued, 1951, June 27: first air mail stamp (Spanish) issued, 1964, July 25: first semipostal stamp (French) issued
Andorra Francese: (It.) French Andorra
Andorra Spagnola: (It.) Spanish Andorra
Andorra, Spanish rule, forged issue: 1928 overprint on King Alfonso XIII, Sc. 2-12
Andorre: (Fr.) 1931 overprint on postage due stamps of France for Andorra
Andreotti Press: seven-color gravure press acquired by U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing 1970
Andresen Local Post: Christianssund – M. Andresen Local Post
Andrews’ Express: local post, serviced Boston, Mass to Portland, Maine, used a label, 1843-45
Andruck: (Ger.) proof, trial printing
Andujar: local, Spanish civil war, Republican,, 1937
Aneinanderhängend: (Ger.) joined together
A nemzeti hadsereg bevonulása 1919 XI/16: (Hung.) “Liberation of Budapest, Nov. 16, 1919” overprint on stamps of Hungary
Anfänger: (Ger.) beginner
Anfeuchten: (Ger.) to moisten
Ångare: (Swed.) Ocean-ångare
Ångbåten: (Swed.) steamboat, steamer, steamship
Ångbåts-Post: (Fin.) stamps used on mail carried on steamships, Helsingfors, Finland, 1870s
Angebot: (Ger.) an offer
Angebote: (Ger.) bid sheet
Angefertigt: (Ger.) made to order
Angeklebt, Angekl: (Ger.) pasted on, affixed
Angesschitten, Angeschn: (Ger.) close borders, no margins, cut into
ANGL. EST: postmark used on mail from Paris to London, 1815-49
Angle: (Fr.) corner
Anglet: bogus, France-supposed republic for dogs
Angleterre: (Fr.) England
Anglie: (Czech.) England
Anglo American Drug Co.: U.S. private die medicine proprietary stamp
Anglo-Girl E.P.S.: United Kingdom strike local post, 1971
Angola: former Portuguese territory in southwest Africa; official name of postal administration: Empresa Nacional de Correios Telégrafos de Angola currency:100 reis = 1 milreis,100 centavos = 1 escudo (1913), 100 lweys = 1 kwanza (1977), 1870: No.1, 5 reis black, 1893: first newspaper stamp, 1904: first postage due stamp issued, 1925, May 8: first semipostal stamp issued, 1938, July 26: first air mail stamp issued, 1975, Nov. 11: became independent from Portugal, as People’s Republic of Angola, 1977, March 3: joined the UPU, 1986: during a civil war, labels titled UNITA for rebel faction issued, 1991, Sept. 19: first semi-postal; Cabinda
Angola: many bogus topical issues exist; animals, flowers, millennium, trains, Papal visit, 2000, Sept. 25: reported to the UPU
Angola government in exile: bogus, supposed freedom issues for Angola; a Henry Stull fantasy; once listed in Ohio telephone book under “Stamps for Collectors.”
Angolo: (It.) corner
Angolo di foglio: (It.) sheet corner
Angora, Ankhara, Ankara: city in Turkey; 1921: Turkey overprint for city in 1921, 1922: special issues, 1923: Republic of Turkey established; used general issues for Turkey, 1930: named changed to Ankara
Angra: Portuguese island group; 1892-1905: used colonial types, 1906-31: stamps of the Azores, 1931: stamps of Portugal; see: A. H. PD
Angram: now known as Zagreb, Yugoslavia
Anguilla: island in the Caribbean Sea, east of Puerto Rico, British territory; currency: 100 cents = 1 East Caribbean dollar 1904-1956: used stamps of St. Kitts-Nevis issue of the Leeward Islands Federation also valid in addition to stamps of St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla, 1967, Sept. 4.: No.1, 1/4 cent brown; independent Anguilla overprint on stamps of St.Kitts-Nevis, 1969: Anguilla stamps issued
Angulo: (Sp.) corner, as in corner of a stamp
Angweela, free: bogus, parody of Anguilla overprints
Anhangsel: (Ger.) attached label
Anhaufung: (Ger.) accumulation
Anhwei: China province provisional stamps, 1949
Anhyphenate: without hyphen, applied to early issues of the Union of South Africa
Anil: (Sp.) indigo (color)
Anilinerood: (Neth.) aniline red (color)
Anilin: (Ger.) aniline
Anilina: (Sp.) aniline
Aniline ink: a water-soluble ink which fluoresces under ultraviolet light; such as used on Roosevelt Small Die Proofs
Animaux prehistorique: (Fr.) prehistoric animals (topic)
Anirtida: (Sp.) antarctic
Anjouan: one of the Comoro Islands, Mozambique Channel, French territory; currency: 100 centimes = 1 franc 1892: No.1, 1 centime blue; French colonial stamps inscribed Sultanat d’Anjouan, 1912-1950: stamps of Madagascar and Dependencies, 1950: stamps of Comoro Islands, 1958-74: stamps of Malagasy Republic, 1974: became part of the Islamic Federal Republic of Comoros, 1997, Aug. 3: became independent; Comoro Islands
ANK: Austria-Netto-Katalog
Ankara: formerly Angora, Turkey, see: Angora
Ankara: bogus, Turkish capital with stamps issued after World War II by nationalist Revolutionists
Ankauf: (Ger.) purchase
Ankaufreis: (Ger.) purchase price
Anker: (Ger.) anchor, watermark used in issues of Great Britain and Colonies
Ankerstempel: (Ger.) French cancel showing anchor instead of numeral
Anklben: (Ger.) to adhere
Ankomststempel: (Dan.) arrival cancellation, receiving datestamp, receiving postmark
Ankunft, Ank: (Ger.) arrival
Ankunftsort: (Ger.) place of destination
Ankunftspostamt: (Ger.) post office of arrival
Ankunftsstempel: (Ger.) postmark of arrival, backstamp, distribution cancel
Anlass: (Ger.) reason for holding (show)
Anmeldt: (Dan.) marking that recipient was notified that letter was being held at post office
Annaba: formerly Bone, Algeria
Annabon: see: Assobla
Annahmestelle: (Ger.) receiving office
Annam and Tonkin (Tongking): area in French Indo-China, China Sea, French Colonies; currency: 100 centimes = 1 franc1888, Jan. 21: French Colonies stamps handstamped / surcharged A & T, 1887: Annam became part of the Union of Indo-China, 1888, Jan. 21: No.1, 1 centime brown; first stamps issued, 1892: stamps of French Indo-China, 1936: Indo-China had one issue for Annam, WW II: occupied by Japan, 1945: north (Tonkin) used People’s Republic of Vietnam, 1954-75: south (Annam) used Republic of Vietnam, now part of Viet Nam; A and T, A&T
Annan und Tongkong: (Ger.) Annam and Tonkin
Annapolis: Maryland, U.S., Postmasters Provisionals envelope issued in 1846
Annas: currency unit in Mesopotamia
An, Année: (Fr.) year
Annecy: local provisional, France,1944
Anné d’emission: (Fr.) year of issue
Année Mondiale du Réfugié: (Fr.) Year of the Refugee, overprint on stamps of Switzerland for United Nations
Annemasse: local provisional, France, 1944
Annexe: (Fr.) sub-office (bureau, post)
Anniversaire: (Fr.) anniversary
Anniversary stamp or cachet: postage stamp or design on cover that commemorates an anniversary
Annobon: Equatorial Guinea, formerly Spanish territory; 1903: joint issue for the islands of Annobon, Elobey and Corisco, 1909: replaced by stamps of Spanish Guinea
Annonce: (Fr.) advertisement
Annual: yearly
Annual folder: formerly produced by non-US postal administrations for the press and other interested parties with details of stamps issued during course of one year
Annulamento manuale: (It.) canceled, handstamp
Annulare: (It.) to cancel
Annulé: (Fr.) cancelled
Annuel: (Fr.) yearly
Annuler: (Fr.) to cancel
Annullamento: (It.) term used to denote a cancellation marking
Annullamento de compiacenza: (It.) canceled to order, stamps cancelled by postal authorities without having been used for postage
Annullato: (It.) cancelled
Annullato sbarrato: (It.) barred cancel with stripes
Annullato verso: (It.) backstamp marking on the back of a philatelic object
Annulleret: (Dan.) postmarked, cancelled
Annullering: (Dan., Nor., Swed.) postmark, cancellation
Annullierung: (Ger.) cancellation
Annullo (dubbio): (It.) cancellation (suspicious)
Annullo a Mezzaluna: (It.) crescent cancel
Annullo a Numero: (It.) numerical cancel
Annullo a penna: (It.) pen cancellation
Annullo Contraffato: (It.) forged cancel
Annullo di Primo Giorno: (It.) first day cancel
Annullo Fiscale: (It.) fiscal, revenue cancel
Ano: (Sp.) year
Anomalie: (Fr.) abnormality
Anormal: (Fr.) abnormal
Anotacion: (Sp.) Colombia registration issue design
Anotado: handstamped overprint used on Mexico 1868 issue, (privately printed from government plates on government presses) of the 1868 issue. This handstamp legitimized these issues into valid stamps. They are scarce and forgeries abound
Anping: Seaport ca. 180 miles SSW of Taipei (formerly Taihoku or Daihoku), close to Tainan. Chinese Treaty Port granted to Great Britain (1860). Transferred to Japanese control (1895), at which time the Treaty Port rights were cancelled. Hong Kong stamps used in Anping are identified by the single-ring “ANPING” circular datestamp (1889-1895), Chinese Treaty Ports
ANS: Air Navigation School
Anschlussbahnhof: (Ger.) connecting railway station
Anschrift: (Ger.) address
An-shun: local, Southwest China (Kwei-Yang), 1949
Ansichtskarte: (Ger.) picture postcard
Ansichtskarte, amtliche: (Ger.) official picture postcard
Ansichtssendung: (Ger.) approval
Anstreicher: (Ger.) painter, as a theme or topic
Anstrich: (Ger.) serife, a fine line of a letter such as cross lines at top or bottom of I
ANT: Assistencia Nacional Aos Tuberculosos, Portuguese Anti-Tuberculosis Society
Antakya: formerly Antioch or Hatay, Turkey
Antananarivo: British Madagascar hand stamp for mail inscribed “British Consular Mail Anatananarivo” now known as Tananarive, Madagascar
Antarctica: philatelic material issued in connection with South Polar regions
Antarctica 1954 Expedition: bogus Australia souvenir labels
Antarctica, Russian, Ukranian: illegal labels, purporting to be stamps, as per Jan. 14, 2002 Russian Federation report to the UPU; local post overprint and stamps, c1998, not valid for postage
Antarctic Expedition stamp: special stamp issued in connection with an expedition to the South Pole regions
Antarctique Britannique: (Fr.) British Antarctic Territories (B.A.T.)
Antarktis: (Dan., Ger., Nor.) Antarctic. Sydpolen (Nor.)
Antarktisz: (Hung.) Antarctic
Ante (de): (Sp.) before
Anteado: (Sp.) buff, brownish-yellow (color)
Antequera: local, Spanish Nationalist and Republican,1937
Anthrax: contagious deadly powder found in U.S. mail during 2001
Anticuado: (Sp.) obsolete
Antidaté: (Fr.) predated, antedated
Antigoa: (Fr.) Antigua
Anti-Graham Wafers: small circular paper wafers used to seal envelopes, Great Britain, 1844
Antikamnia Chemical Co.: inscription on Medicine stamps; Private die proprietary stamps
Antigua: island in the West Indies; currency: 12 pence = 1 shilling, 20 shillings = 1 pound, 100 cents = 1 West Indian dollar (1951), 1858-60: British stamps used, 1862: No.1, 6 pence blue-green; issued own stamps, 1890-1903: Leeward Islands stamps, 1903-56: Leeward Islands and Antigua stamps, 1916: first semipostal (War Tax) stamp issued, 1956: became a Crown Colony, 1967: became self-governing as an Associated State of the U.K., 1981, Nov. 1: became independent as Antigua and Barbuda, which includes islands of Antigua, Barbuda and Redonda; Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua: Pig Farming; unissued Great Britain cinderella by David Horry, 2001
Antigua and Barbuda: islands between Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean; currency: 100 cents = 1 EC dollar 1981, Nov. 1: became independent as Antigua and Barbuda, which includes islands of Antigua, Barbuda and Redonda; 1994, Jan. 20: joined the UPU; Antigua
Antillas: (Sp.) Antilles, 1855-71, such as Puerto Rico and Cuba
Antilles Danoises: (Fr.) Danish West Indies
Antilles Neerlandaise: (Fr.) Netherlands Antilles
Anti-malaria: slogan used in 1962 to commemorate the United Nations “World Against Malaria” campaign
Antioch: now known as Antakya, formerly, Hatay, Turkey
Antioquia: originally a state, now a department in Colombia; 1868-1904: issued a large range of its own stamps
Antiqua: bogus Donald Evans issue, Maine
Antique Dealer: United Kingdom strike local post, 1971
Antique type: a printer’s type with short serifs of the same thickness as the body of the letter
Anti-tuberculosis seal: a charity label sold to raise funds to combat T.B., resembles a stamp but is not valid for postage
Anti-tuberculosis stamp: postage stamp with a surtax for fighting T.B.; earliest issued by New South Wales in 1897, inscribed “Consumptive Home” sold at twelve times face value
Antwerp: also known as Anvers, Belgium
Antwort, Antw: (Ger.) reply
Antwortpostkarte: (Ger.) paid reply postal card
Antwortpostkartenbrief: (Ger.) paid reply letter card
Anulación: (Sp.) cancellation
Anulado: (Sp.) cancelled
Anulado con arana: (Sp.) cancelled with “spider” type canceller, 1850s
Anulado con barras: (Sp.) cancelled with bars
Anular: (Sp.) to cancel
Anus: Finnish name for Olonets, town in Russia, 1917-18: overprint on stamps of Finland for Finnish occupation
Anvers: also known as Antwerp, Belgium
Anverso: (Sp.) obverse, front or face of a stamp
Any: printed matter overprint on hyper inflated issues of Hungary in 1946 for use of postage prepayment
Anzac commemoration: overprint for Australian-New Zealand Army Corps
Anzahl: (Ger.) number
Anzeigebrief: (Ger.) advertising letter
ANZ UK FPO: Australia & New Zealand United Kingdom Forces Post Office
AO: 1: associate (post) office, USPS term. 2: other articles, printed matter, newspapers, parcels. 3: Afrique Orientale; German East Africa, Belgium occupation. 4: Angola, country code as used by UPU. 5. 1918:overprint on stamps of Belgian Congo charity issue semi-postal. 6. Audit Office, South Australia official overprint, 1868-74
AOD: Allen O. Dickey, BEP employee initials, 1906-1928; Plate Finisher, Siderographer
A. O. F.: “Afrique Occidentale Franeaise” French West Africa overprint, 1945: on stamps of semi-postal issue of France
A. O. I.: Italian East Africa Postage Due overprint, 1941: on stamps of Italy
AOP: abbreviation indicating that the paper has a coating of phosphorescent material covering the entire surface
AOPU: Asian-Oceanic Postal Union, on stamps of China for Formosa, 1963
AOS: Air Observer School
Août: (Fr.) august
AP: 1: American Philatelist, publication of the American Philatelic Society, 2: Australia Post. 3: USPS abbreviation for Armed Forces Pacific
Ap, Apax, Apaxmai: postal tax surcharge on stamps of Greece, 1942-56
Apagado: (Sp.) dull or faded (color)
Apaisado: (Sp.) horizontal shaped
APAL Travel: United Kingdom strike local post, 1971
Apam: overprint used on stamps of Mexico for this district during 1856-1883
Apa Offset: printer of stamps of Turkey
Aparecido en buzon: (Sp.) marking applied to items that should have been handed into the post office but were found in the mail box; such as a registered item
Apartado de correos: (Sp.) post office box
Apartado postal: (Sp.) post office box
Apartados particulares: (Sp.) private post office box
A payer: (Fr.) Luxembourg postage due
A payer: (Fr.) Belgium, to pay, on postage due stamps
A payer te betalen: (Dut.) Belgium, Belgium Colonies and Ruanda-Urundi Postage Due inscription
APC: American Philatelic Congress book
A. P. C.: Anglo-Palestine Co. perfin that has been reported being privately reproduced
APDC: Army Postal Distribution Center
Apeadero, A P: (Sp.) postmark indicating small railway station
A percevoir: (Fr.) “to collect” inscription/overprint on postage dues of Belgium, Canada, Egypt, France, Haiti and Monaco
“A” perforating machine: single-line perforation guillotine used by Perkins, Bacon & Co., for Trinidad, 1860, and on British stamps
APEX: American Philatelic Society Expertising Service
Apfelgrün: (Ger.) apple green (color)
APHV: (Ger.) “Allgemeiner Postwertzeichen-Händler-Verband” Association of German Professional Dealers
APJ: The Airpost Journal
A plat: (Fr.) flat plate (printing)
APO: Army Post Office
Apolda: local, “Apolda, Stadtpost” German 1945, Courier 1893-95, Express 1886-96
Apollo Service: United Kingdom strike local post, 1971
Aportacion voluntaria: (Sp.) Spain charity labels
A-Post: (Swed.) Priority Mail label
Apparié: (Fr.) matched
Appendice: (It.) label
Appendice di propaganda bellica: (It.) war propaganda labels attached to Italian stamps
Apple green: yellowish green (color)
Äpplegrön: (Swed.) apple-green (color)
Appleton, D. and Company: New York City, produced the first printed stamp album in 1863
Appraisal: an estimate of value or price
Approval proof: proof of a finished master engraving may be noted by inspectors giving approval to proceed in the printing process
Approvals: selection of stamps or covers sent to a collector for examination; usually must be bought or returned to the sender within a specified period of time
APPS: Automated Package Processing System; a USPS package sorting program replaces Small Parcel and Bundle Sorting machines, 2002
APRA: Alianza Popular Revolucionara Americana (Sp.) political movement in Peru founded in the 1920s, fund raising local label
Apres le depart: (Fr.) after departure, too late
A Press: five-color gravure and three-color intaglio combination press used by the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing, purchased 1973
April: (Dan., Ger., Neth., Nor.) April
Aprile: (It., Rom.) April
Aprilis: (Latv., Hung.) April
Április: (Hung.) April
Aprill: (Est.) April
Aprins: (Rom.) bright (as referencing the color of a postage stamp)
A: Prioritare: label applied to mail originating in Europe meaning next day domestic delivery
Approved Capt. & Provost Marshal: censor marking on prisoners mail from Southern prison camps addressed to the North during the American Civil War
APRL: American Philatelic Research Library, part of the American Philatelic Society
APS: 1: American Philatelic Society, founded as American Philatelic Association,1886, New York. 2: Army Postal Service, postal system used by U.S. military personnel
APSHD: Army Postal Service Home Defence
APT: USPS abbreviation for apartment
APTS: Army Postal Training School
APU: Army Postal Unit
Apuntes Filatelicos: Spanish language philatelic periodical from Argentina
A Punti: (It.) dotted
Apurimac: Arequipa, Peru provisional overprint, 1885; Chilean occupation of Peru
AQ: abbreviation for Aqua used on prestamped taxed letter sheets during the 17th and 18th century to raise money to control Venice’s floods
Äquatorial Afrika: (Ger.) Equatorial Africa
Äquatorial Guinea: (Ger.) Equatorial Guinea
AR: 1: Scott Catalogue prefix for Postal Fiscal. 2: “Aviso de Recepcion” acknowledgment of receipt. 3: Acknowledgment of Receipt, Chile, Colombia, Montenegro and Panama. 4: Argentina, country code as used by UPU. 5: USPS abbreviation for Arkansas
ARA: American Revenue Association
Arabesque: stamp design formed of inter woven plants, flowers or foliage
Arab Government of the East: Arabic inscription, Jordan issues, 1920-25
Arabia: 1: bogus, triangular stamp issue of Arabia from the 1920s. 2: also known as Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Arabian (Persian) Gulf: see: Muscat and Oman
Arabic gum: gum from the acacia plant, shrub or tree, collected in the arabic district
Arabien: (Dan., Ger., Swed.) Arabia
Arabia Saudita: (Sp.) Saudi Arabia
Arabie Soudité: (Fr.) Saudi Arabia
Arabie Soudité, Royaume de l’: (Fr.) inscription used on stamps of Saudi Arabia,1934-66
Arabien: (Dan., Swed..) Arabia
Arabisk: (Nor., Dan., Swed.) Arabian
Arab Union: political linking of Iraq and Jordan; issued stamp in 1958
Aracena: local, Spanish Nationalist, 1937
Arad: 1: county and city in W Romania on the Mures River ca. 245 mi WNW of Bucharest. A Turkish fortress outpost in the 1600s, belonging to Austria after 1685, and ceded by Austria to Romania in 1919 after WWII. Administered by French; issued postage stamps in 1919 by overprinting Hungarian stamps with “Occupation française”. 2: steamship of the Danube Steam Navigation Company;1860s: for the middle Danube lines
Aragon: local, Spanish civil war, Republican,, 1937
Aramoana: bogus, independent state in New Zealand,1981?
Arana: (Sp.) first Spanish cancels which looked like a spider, started using March 1850
Arancio: (It.) Orange (color)
Arancione: (It.) orange (color)
Arancione-Bruno: (It.) orange-brown (color)
Arancione-Bruno Oscuro: (It.) dull orange-brown (color)
Arancione-Bruno Scuro: (It.) dark orange-brown (color)
Arancione Chiarro: (It.) light orange (color)
Arancione di Cadmio: (It.) cadmium orange (color)
Arancione-Giallo: (It.) orange-yellow (color)
Arancione Lucente: (It.) bright orange (color)
Arancione Oscuro: (It.) dull orange (color)
Arancione Palido: (It.) pale orange (color)
Arancione Rossa: (It.) orange-red (color)
Arancione Rossa-Brillante: (It.) bright orange-red (color)
Arancione Scuro: (It.) dark orange (color)
Arancio: (It.) orange (color)
Aran, Republic of, Aran Islands: bogus, Ireland overprint made in 1967
Aranybarna: (Hung.) auburn-brown (color)
Aranypart: (Hung.) the Gold Coast
Arbah: bogus, one of the Sicmon Islands in the South Pacific created by Nick Bantock for his book, Griffin & Sabine
Arbe: 1920, Nov.- Dec. 1920: Fiume overprint
Arbeitsgemeinschaft, Arge: (Ger.) philatelic study group for a particular area of collecting
Arbeitslager: (Ger.) labor camp
Arbitrios: (Sp.) duties or taxes
Arbrite Deliv. E.P.S.: United Kingdom strike local post, 1971
Arc: 1: (Fr.) Canadian set of King George V of 1930-31 to differentiate them from previous series. 2: form of rouletting where the slit is formed in a semi-circle; paper is cut, not removed in making an arc roulette
Arch: (Czech.) Sheet of stamps
Archäologie: (Ger.) archaelogy, theme or topic
Archena: local, Spanish civil war, Republican,, 1937
Archeologia: (It..) archaelogy, theme or topic
Archeologie: (Fr.) archaelogy, theme or topic
Archer and Daly: printer in Richmond, Va.; printed stamps for the Confederate government
Archer perforation/roulette: method of separating stamps, devised by Henry Archer, by punching tiny circles of paper
Arches: watermark seen on French-Area artist’s die proofs
Archez: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist, 1937
Archidona: local, Spanish Nationalist, 1937
Archipel des Comores: (Sp.) see: Comores
Archipielago de Colon: bogus, Ecuador
Arch issue: The King George V Canadian stamp featuring an arch
Architektur: (Ger.) architecture, theme or topic
Architettura: (It.) architecture, theme or topic
Archival: properties of any material in contact with covers or stamps that will not degrade with time
Archival paper: paper manufactured to provide resistance to the effects of natural aging
Arco: (Sp.) arc, as in arc perforated or rouletted
A. R. Colón Colombia: Panama overprint on stamps of Colombia indicating acknowledgment of receipt
Arcoudi: bogus, Greek island stamps repudiated by government in 1963
Arc roulette: separation in which curved cuts appear as a semi-circle
Arctic Air Emergency Flight: bogus, Alaska, local
Arctische post: arctic post; 1897: Spitzbergen local post by Captain W. Bade
Ardales: local, Spanish Nationalist, 1937
Ardatof: Russian town in Nizhni-Novgorod Oblast (now Nizhegorod Oblast). Issued 40 different local Rural Post stamps (1878-1914), Zemstvo Issues
Ardatov: local, Russian Zemstvo, 1878-1814
Ardesia: (It.) slate grey (color)
Ardesia-Azzurro: (It.) slate-blue (color)
Ardesia-Bruno: (It.) slate-brown (color)
Ardesia-Giallo: (It.) slate-yellow (color)
Ardesia-Lilla: (It.) slate-violet (color)
Ardesia-Oliva: (It.) slate olive-green (color)
Ardesia-Porpora: (It.) slate-purple (color)
Ardesia-Verde: (It.) slate-green (color)
Ardesia-Violetto: (It.) slate-violet (color)
Ardoise: (Fr.) slate-blue (color)
Ardoise-Bleu: (Fr.) slate-blue (color)
Ardoise-Brun: (Fr.) slate-brown (color)
Ardoise-Jaune: (Fr.) slate-yellow (color)
Ardoise-Lilas: (Fr.) slate-lilac (color)
Ardoise-Mauve: (Fr.) slate-blue (color)
Ardoise-Oliv: (Fr.) slate olive-green (color)
Ardoise-Vert: (Fr.) slate-green (color)
Ardoise-violet: (Fr.) slate-violet (color)
Ardósia: (Port.) slate grey (color)
Ardósia-Amarelo: (Port.) slate-yellow (color)
Ardósia-Azul: (Port.) slate-blue (color)
Ardósia-Lilás: (Port.) slate-lilac (color)
Ardósia-Oliva: (Port.) slate-olive green (color)
Ardósia-Pardo: (Port.) slate-brown (color)
Ardósia-Púpura: (Port.) slate-purple (color)
Ardósia-Verde: (Port.) slate-green (color)
Ardósia-Violeta: (Port.) slate-violet (color)
Ardezie: (Rom.) slate grey (color)
Ardoyne Relief Comm.: United Kingdom strike local post, 1971
Area Distribution Center (ADC): mail processing facility that receives, processes and distributes mail destined for specific ZIP Code area, USPS term
A Receber: Postage Due, Portugal, Portuguese Colonies inscription
Arenas: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist, 1937
Arenas de San Pedro: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist, 1937
Arendal: Norwegian seaport on the Skagerrak (also Skagerak) arm of the E central North Sea and seat of Aust-Agder county ca. 125 miles SSW of Oslo. Local post established by G. O. Ulleberg, with first “Arendals-Bypost” bicolored lithographed local stamps issued 9 November 1885, and with others issued through 1888. An “Arendals / Bypost / Aviser” handstamped “GOU” newspaper local stamp was issued on 1 January 1886. The local post was continued by N. Herlofsen, who in 1890 reissued the original “Arendals-Bypost” local stamps, but with recognizable plate retouches
Arendal Bypost: Arendal Bypost: Norway local post, 1885-91
Arenys de Mar: local, Spanish civil war Republican, 1937
Arequipa: city in Peru; 1881: overprint on stamps of Peru for Chilean occupation, 1884-85: issued stamps by forces opposing the government
Arevalo: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist, 1937
Arf: (Fr.) marking applied to Austrian border mail before stamps
ARG: Alfred R. Gould, BEP employee initials, 1906-1928; Plate Finisher, Siderographer
Ar gaisa pastu: (Latv.) Airmail
Argelia: (Sp.) Algeria
Argent: (Fr.) silver, money, cash
Argentin: (Hung.) Argentinian
Argentina: southern South America; official name of postal administration: Correo Argentino; currency:100 centavos = 1 peso (1858), 100 old peso = 1 new Argentine peso (1970), 1,000 pesos = 1 austral (1985); stamps of this country can be found in these catalogs: Cat. De Sellos Postales Argentinos, Filatelia Argentina, Kneitschel, Michel, Scott, Stanley Gibbons, Yvert et Tellier; 1856, Aug. 21: stamp released by Corrientes Province, 1858-80: separate issues by several Argentine provinces, 1858, May 1: No.1, 5 centavos red; first stamps of Argentine Confederation; A-U, 1862, Jan. 11: stamps of Argentine Republic, 1878, April 1: joined the UPU, 1884: first official stamp, 1928, March 1: first airmail stamp issued, 1944, Jan.5: first semipostal issued
Argentina: (Hung.) Argentina
Argentina, occupation of Falkland Islands: 1982: issued commemorative stamp
Argentine: 1. (Fr.) Argentina. 2. Argentine: (Nor.) Argentinian
Argentine State Mint: printer of stamps of Argentina
Argentinec: (Czech.) Argentinian
Argentinien: (Dan., Ger., Swed.) Argentina
Argentino: (It.) Silvery (color)
Argentinsk: (Dan, Nor., Swed..) Argentinian
Argentinsky: (Czech.) Argentina
Argintiu: (Rom.) silver (metallic color)
Århus: (or Aarhus), seaport city and capital of Århus county located on Århus Bay ca. 95 miles NW of Copenhagen, Denmark. Local post established by a Mr. Paulsen, with first “Aarhus Telefon og Bypost” lithographed local stamps issued 1 November 1884, and with numerous others issued through 1900
Argo, S.S.: steamship of the Danube Steam Navigation Company; 1834: for the lower Danube lines
Argyrokastron: now Gjirokaster, Albania; had Turkish stamps surcharged when city was occupied by Greece, 1914
Arino Polesine: local, Italian liberation, 1944
Ariary: 1976 currency unit in Madagascar
Ariche: Egypt, see: Interpostal seals, 1884
A Ride Along Enclosed: USPS term for enclosures included with magazines
Ariz.: abbreviation for Arizona prior to Zip Code usage
Arizona mail: regular mail service through Arizona to the Pacific Coast, August 1856-61
Arjona: local, Spanish Republican, 1937
Ark: 1, (Dan., Nor.) sheet (of stamps). 2. abbreviation for Arkansas prior to Zip Code usage
Arkrand: (Nor.) sheet margin
Arktakning: (Dan.) harrow perforation, Perforering – Ark
Arktandning: (Swed.) harrow perforation
Arktisk: (Nor., Swed.) Arctic
Arkusik(i): (Pol.) sheetlet
Arkusz(e): (Pol.) sheets
ARM: 1. accelerated reply mail, USPS term. 2. Armée; d’Angleterre; Napoleon’s French Army ready to attack Great Britain, 1790s
Arma: (It., Sp.) arms, weapons, as a theme or topic
Armath: Egypt, see: Interpostal seals, 1879-80
Armavir: Russian city had two stamps surcharged by local authorities in 1920
Arme; 1: (It.) coat of arms. 2: arms, weapons as a theme or topic
Armed Guard: marking on mail from group of enlisted Navy men assigned to protect merchant and cargo vessels
Armee: (Ger.) army
Armée d’Orient: handstamp for mail in war against Russia in 1854
Armeebriefstelle (ABSt.): (Ger.) army postal station
Armeefeldpostmeister: (Ger.) army field postmaster
Armeegruppe (Agr): (Ger.) army group (post)
Armeekorps, A.K.: (Ger.) army corps
Armeepostamt: (Ger.) army post office
Armenia: southwestern Asia, east of Turkey; currency: 100 kopecks = 1 rouble (1923), 100 lumas = 1 dram (1993) 1828: incorporated into Russia, 1918: Russian Armenia proclaimed Soviet Republic, 1918, May 26: independence proclaimed, 1919: No.1, 60 kopecks orange, stamps of Russia handstamp 1920: incorporated into the USSR, former member of Trans-Caucasian Federation of Soviet Republics with Azerbaijan and Georgia, 1921, Feb-Apr.: issued own stamps, 1920, Mar 12: joins Transcaucasion Federation, 1923, Oct.1: superceded by stamps of Soviet Union, 1991, Dec.26: Soviet Union breakup, joined the former Soviet Republics to form the Commonwealth of Independent States, 1992, Sept.14: joined the UPU
Armenia, forged issues: 1: 1920 Chassepot, unissued. 2: 1922 Erevan, unissued without surcharge, Sc. 300. 3: 1922 Mount Ararat, unissued without surcharge, Sc. 301
Armenie: (Fr.) Armenia
Armenien: (Ger., Swed.) Armenia
Armenisk: (Swed.) Armenian
Armensteuermarke: (Ger.) fiscal stamp for the poor
Armenwet: overprint of stamps of The Netherlands; 1913: for official use for Poor Law Administration
Armistice cover: covers postmarked on Nov. 11, 1918, marking the end of World War I
Armia Polska we Wloszech: (Pol.) Polish Army in Italy handstamp, 1943-1946
Armoiries: (Fr.) coat of arms
Armstrong’s Express: local post connected with the Boston & Albany Railroad; used a label, 1867-1900
Arms types: stamps bearing coats of arms or heraldic devices for a topical or thematic collection
Army flights: 1: air mail flights flown by U.S. Army pilots from May 15 – August 11, 1918 when civilian pilots took over. 2: “emergency” period in 1934 when President F.D. Roosevelt cancelled CAM contracts and army air corps pilots carried the mail
Army frank: U.S. privately produced label by an army officer during Spanish-American War, purported to be “official” 1898
Army official: 1: Sudan overprint, officials, 1905. 2: Great Britain Foreign Offices overprint; 1896-1904: Paymasters and War Office
Army of the North: became part of Army of the Northwest; 1919: fought against Soviet forces in Petrograd (St. Petersburg)
Army of the Northwest: 1919, June-Nov.: fought against Soviet forces in Petrograd (St. Petersburg)
Army of the West: formed by Germany to restore German landowners 1919, Nov.: attacked Riga, was defeated and dissolved
Army post: British forces overprint used in Egypt in 1936
Army post office: military postal facilities for serving men and women in the armed forces, staffed by military personnel
Army service: Sudan overprint
Armze de Grisons: French military post handstamp used in Switzerland, 1798-1806
Armze de Suisse: French military post handstamp used in Switzerland, 1798-1806
Armze d’Italie: French military post handstamp used in Switzerland, 1798-1806
Arnold & Co.: private die match proprietary stamps
Arnsberg: local, Germany, 1945-48
Aroche: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist, 1937
Arohez: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist, 1937
Aromatherapy: collection of medicinal plants on stamps
Aromatic stamp: stamp that gives off an aroma, most famous is the Switzerland chocolate issue of 2001, which, when scratched, had an aroma of chocolate
Arona Libera: local, Italian liberation, Allied occupation, 1944
Arosa: Switzerland hotel post, 1897-1993, Hotel Victoria
Arpa: Romania Postal Tax stamps
Arqueologia: (Sp..) archaelogy, as a theme or topic
Arquitectura: (Sp.) architecture, as a theme or topic
Arriate: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist, 1937
Arriba: (Sp.) top
Arriba Espana: “Spain Above All” overprint in Guipuzcoa Province
Arrival postmark: impression placed on mail by receiving office to show name of office and arrival date, usually applied on back of correspondence
Arrivc: (Fr.) arrived
Arrondi: (Fr) rounded
Arrossire: (It.) redden (color)
Arrow: marking in a margin, as a guide for cutting sheets into smaller units for perforations
Arrow block: block of four or more stamps with a printed thin arrow in the margin used as a guide for registering colors or perforating
Arrow Marker: another term for Registry Markings; different shaped marks used to help in correctly registering the frame and vignette of bi-colored stamps
Arrow messages: used during Siege of Potidaea in the 5th century BC
Arrows: arrow-shaped markings used in margins of stamp sheets as guide to color registration or perforating
Arruga: (Sp.) crease, fold
Arsík: (Czech.) 1. Miniature sheet. 2. Souvenir sheet
Årssatser: (Swed.) year sets
Årssett: (Nor.) year set
ART: article, Anglo-French Postal Convention, 1843
Arte: (Sp., It.) art, as a theme or topic
Arthur’s City Post: fantasy label by S. Allan Taylor, 1865
Article: (Fr.) item (of a listing)
Articles database: research citations are from 125,000 articles; available from APRL; see: American Philatelic Research Library
Articles s’argent: (Fr.) money orders; French Colony revenue inscription
Artigas: Uruguay overprint honoring Gen. Artigas
Artistamps: labels designed by artists to simulate stamps
Artist die proof: die proof signed by the artist
Art Litho Co.: offset lithography printer for picture postal cards
Art paper: superfine calendered paper with a china clay surface, or kaolin, giving it a enameled finish for the printing of half-tone blocks
Artsaki: part of Azerbaijan, various local issues of dubious status, distributed
Arsik: (Czech.) small sheet (of stamps)
Arts Festival of St. Kitts: St. Kitts-Nevis overprint, 1964
Aruba: formerly part of Netherlands Antilles; 1986, Jan.1: started issuing own stamps
Arviskarosultaknak Kulon: Hungary semi-postal inscription, food sufferers, 1913
Arwad: Syrian island, also called Rouad; 1916: occupying French forces issued stamps
Arzamas: : Russian town in Nizhni-Novgorod Oblast (now Nizhegorod Oblast) ca. 60 miles S of the city of Nizhniy-Novgorod. Issued numerous local Rural Post stamps (1874-1908), Zemstvo Issues
Arzte: (Fr.) ridge
A. S.: Army Service, Sudan perforations in 1913
AS: 1: Samoa, country code as used by UPU. 2: USPS abbreviation for American Samoa
As always: auction catalog term used to denote a fault common to most or all known copies of a certain philatelic item
ASBA: Australian Specialist Booklet Album
ASC: Australian Stamp Catalogue; Seven Seas Stamps
ASCAT: (Fr.) Association Internationale Éditors de Catalogues de Timbres-Poste; International Association of Stamp Catalogue Publishers.Ascedente: (Sp.) ascending, applied to homeward bound ships
Ascension: island in the South Atlantic Ocean; official name of postal administration: Ascension Island Post Office currency: 12 pence = 1 shilling, 20 shillings = 1 pound, 100 pence = 1 pound (1971) 1815: occupied by British and used as a naval station, 1856: first issue, 1867-1922: stamps of Great Britain used, 1916: first semipostal stamp, 1922: No.1, ½ penny green/black; annexed to British Crown Colony of St. Helena, overprint on stamps St. Helena, 1924: issued own stamps. 1986: issued postage due stamps
Ascension: overprint on stamps St. Helena, starting in 1922
Ascension: Modernisation; unissued Great Britain cinderella by David Horry, 2001
Aschaffenburg: local, Germany, 1945-48
Asch: local, Sudeten district in Czechoslovakia, had overprinted issues in 1938
ASDA: American Stamp Dealers Association
ASECNA: Agency for Security of Aerial Navigation; common design on stamps of the French Community of Nations, 1969-70
Asegurada: (Sp.) inscription on insured mail labels used in Spanish speaking nations
Asemanator: (Rom.) similar
Aserbeidschan: (Ger.) Azerbaijan
Aschgrau: (Ger.) ash gray (color)
Ashanti: a Gold Coast colony
Ashbrook, Stanley B.: (1882-1958) philatelic scholar, wrote handbook on 1¢ U.S. stamp of 1851-57
Ashton Potter: major printer of US postage stamps, plants in US and Canada
Asia Minor Steamship Company: Asia Minor Screw Steamship Company, two local post stamps were issued in 1868-84 to carry mail from Smyrna to Cyprus and Constantinople
Asian subcontinent: popular usage applies to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sikkim and Sri Lanka
Asie: (Dan.) Asia
Asien: (Dan.) Asia
Asien: (Dan., Ger.) Asian
As is: term meaning that the material is sold without a guarantee of any kind
Asitencia: (Sp.) assistance or help
Asistencia social: 1. (Sp.) social welfare; Spanish Morocco revenue. 2. (Rom.) Romania charity stamp inscription
Askegrå: (Dan.) ash grey (color)
Askgrå: (Swed.) ash-grey (color)
ASM: Automatic Sorting Machine
Asmara: now known as Asmera, Ethiopia/Eritrea
Asmera: formerly Asmara, Ethiopia/Eritrea
Asociacion Benefica de Correos: “Association to Benefit the Post” bogus local issue, Spain
Asociatia Filatelistilor din Romania (A.F.R): (Rom.) Philatelic Association of Romania
Aspe: local, Spanish civil war Republican, 1937
Aspect: (Fr.) appearance
Aspecto: (Sp.) appearance
Aspect ratio: dimension of a mailpiece expressed as a ratio of length divided by height; a postcard 5 ½ inches long by 3 ½ inches high has an aspect ratio of 1.57, USPS term
Asphaltum: asphalt, tarlike substance, used to spread over stone in the printing process
Aspio-Elka Graphic Arts: printer of stamps for Greece and Cyprus
ASPP: American Society of Polar Philatelists
ASSA: Territory of Assiniboia, Alberta, Canada, when used in a postmark
Assab: bogus overprint on Italian stamps 1880, possible Ethiopian city on the Red Sea
ASSA East (West): Territory of Assiniboia, Alberta, Canada, when used in a postmark
Assassination cover: the cachet and date in the cancel relates to an assassination
Assbrev: (Swed.) insured letter., Assurerade brev
Assbrev med Uppräkning: (Swed.) insured letter with listed contents
Assegno: (It.) check
Assellijn: bogus, Donald Evans issue taken from name of an Amsterdam gallery
Assicurato: (It.) Italian inscription on insured mail labels
Assistencia: (Sp.) charity or assistance inscription for colonial stamps for funds to fight tuberculosis; Azores, Macao, Portugal
Assistencia Nacional aos Tuberculoses-Porte Franco: (Port.) Portugal National Aid Society for Consumptives, inscription
Assistencia-D.L. no. 72: (Sp.) Timor overprint for social welfare
Assistencia Publica: Portuguese India and Mozambique inscription on postal tax stamps
Assiout: Egypt, 1874-84, see: Interpostal seals
Assobla: (Sp.) Spanish Guinea overprint for Elobey, Annabon and Corisco
Association of British Philatelic Societies: established 1993, succeeded British Philatelic Federation as the umbrella philatelic organization of Great Britain and British member of FIP and FEPA
Association for Stamp Exhibitions: organized 1913 for international exhibitions in New York, 1926, 1936 and 1947
Assortiment: (Fr.) mixed bag, choice range
Assottigliato: (It.) thin
Assouan: Egypt, 1879-84, see: Interpostal seals
ASSR: Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
Assurances sociales: (Fr.) social security; French Colony revenue inscription
Assurerade Brev: (Swed.) insured letter, Assbrev
Assurerat: (Swed.) label for insured mail
Assyria: ancient empire of West Asia; postal service organized about 3000 BC
Asta: (It.) auction; a method of selling or buying stamps to the highest bidder
A Stamp: US non-denominated stamp, valued 15¢, placed on sale May 22, 1978
Astipalaia: Greek island, also known as Stampalia; 1912: occupied by Italy, 1920: ceded to Turkey, 1947: became part of Greece
Astrofilatelia: (Sp.) study and collection of stamps and documents related to space exploration.Astronautica: (Sp.) space thematic
Astronomia: (Sp., It.) astronomy, as a theme or topic
Astronomie: (Fr., Ger.) astronomy, as a theme or topic
Astropogiaph: (It.) space philately, as a theme or topic
Astrophilatelie: (Ger.) space philately, as a theme or topic
Astrophilately: space philately
Asturias: Spanish province; 1868-70: used handstamp “Habilitado por la Junta Revolucionaria,” 1937: local Spanish civil war, Republican
Asturias y Leon: local, Spanish Republican and Nationalist, 1937
Astypalaia: see: Greece
Asuncion: Paraguay 1886 official overprint for founding of city, Aug. 15, 1536
AT: 1: (Fr.) Austria cancel for in transit. 2: Austria, country code as used by UPU
A. T: Army Telegraph; Orange Free State overprint
AT, A&T: French Colonies, Annam and Tonkin overprint
ATA: American Topical Association
ATAF: Allied Tacticai Air Force
Atafu: see: Western Samoa (British)
Atajate: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist, 1937
Atalaya: an international magazine devoted to cinderella, “dead” country stamps and other philatelic oddities; published by the Halmstad Philatelic Society, Halmstad, Sweden
Ataman Semyonov regime: Transbaikal province, Siberia; 1918 Nov.: Ataman Semyonov became ruler of area, issued surcharges on stamps of Russia
AT&Co Ltd: Alexander Thorn & Co. Ltd., printers of British post office stationery, late 1880s
At betale-Portomerke: Norway postage due inscription, 1889-1914
A T Co. (Atlantic Telegraph Company): U.S. telegraph stamps issued for use on own firm’s telegrams, 1888
ATF: Angleterre Transit Français, Aachen transit mark, mid 1800s
Atfe: Egypt, see: Interpostal seals
ATHA: territory of Athabaska, Alberta, Canada, when used in a postmark
A. Thene Budcentralens Expresspost: Hälsingborg – A. Thene Budcentralens Expresspost
Athens: U.S. Georgia Confederate Postmasters stamp of 1861
Athens: also know as Athinaii, Greece
Athens, Ga. Paid 5 T.Crawford, P.M.: see: ConfederatePostmasters’ Provisionals
Athens prints: Greece first issues were printed in Paris and the later printings from Nov. 1861 were made in Athens; they vary in color and line shading differences
Atherton shift: a double transfer on the U. S. 1861 2¢ Andrew Jackson stamp
Äthiopien: (Ger.) Ethiopia
Atjeh: bogus, Sumatra: supposed vassal state issued in early 1880s, possibly 1892
Atkarsk: : Russian town in Saratof (now Saratov) Oblast. Issued numerous local Rural Post stamps (1869-1885), Zemstvo Issues
Atlanta, Geo. Paid 5: I Confederate Postmasters’ Provisionals
Atlanta trial color proofs: stamps, printed as proof sheets of all prior U.S. stamps, on a thin white card stock for the 1881 Atlanta Cotton Exposition in five colors; black, blue, brown, green and scarlet
Atlantic/Air Mail/August/1932: private overprint on stamp of Ireland by James A. Mollison, who was the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean from west to east, August. 18, 1932
Atlantic Base: local ?, Italian submarine crews, Bordeaux, 1943-44
Atlantic City: 1: local, U.S., Faunce’s Penny Post, 1884-87. 2: local, U. S., Hackney & Bolte, 1886
Atlantic Express Co.: local post serviced between Maine, Boston and New York City; used a circular label, 1913-20
Atlantic Front: local, “Front Atlantique” German occupation, 1945
Atlantic Oils: ship via Atlantic Oil Company for Italian branch
Atlantis: bogus, U.S. Virgin Islands, anti-U.S., 1917
Atlantis, Kingdom of: bogus, a Henry Stull fantasy
Atlantis, new: bogus, raft moored off Jamaica, 1960s, made by Leicester Hemingway, brother of Ernest Hemingway
Atlantis y Lemuria: bogus, overprints on Atlantis stamps
Atlantis y Mu: bogus, Pacific equivalent of Atlantis stamps
Atlantium, Empire of: bogus, unrecognized secessionist “state” in Australia
Atlas: United Kingdom strike local post, 1971
ATLC: Air Transport Label Catalog
ATM: Automatic Teller Machine, when used in philately, one that also dispenses stamps
Ätollpost: (Ger.) Marshall Islands mail
Atome: (Fr.) astronomy, as a theme or topic
Atomo: (It., Sp.) astronomy, as a theme or topic
ATPOM: (Fr.) “Agence des Timbres-Poste d’Outre-Mer” overseas stamp agency
Atrament: (Pol.) ink
Atribución: (Sp.) identification of a philatelic item
Åtskilliga: (Swed.) several
Attached cachet: a separate piece that is attached to the cover in some fashion as a cachet
At Tawal: bogus, disputed neutral zone in Arabia; overprint on Kuwait and Saudi Arabia
Åtte: (Nor.) eight (number)
Attempted flight: flight which failed to achieve its goal, altitude, distance or destination
Atten: (Dan., Nor.) eighteen (number)
Attenuc: (Fr.) thinned (of gum)
Attest: (Den., Ger., Nor.) certificate
Åtti: (Nor.) eighty (number)
Attleboro Stamp Company: Attleborobr, Mass. firm used an affixing machine to stamp its newsletters during 1909
ATU: Air Transport Unit
Atviruka: (Lith.) Postcard
Ätztiefdruck: (Ger.) recess print, photogravure
Ätzung: (Ger.) etching
AU: Australia, country code as used by UPU
A-U: Colombia, Argentina, and Uruguay SCADTA consular overprint
Auckland Islands: uninhabited islands 300 miles south of New Zealand; 1915: General Grant Expedition, two stamp issued, no postal validity
Auction: a method of buying and selling stamps or covers to the highest bidder; first recorded stamp auction held in Paris, Dec. 29, 1865, first in U.S. held in New York in May 1870
Auction abbreviations: terms frequently used in auctions: star/mint; circle with dot/used; box with X/cover: square/piece or part of cover; four small squares/block
Auction agent: a representative designated by an absentee bidder or a bidder requesting anonymity during the auction, and authorized to represent the client during the bidding process
Auctioneer: the person who conducts an auction sale and regulates the bidding
Au-dessous: (Fr.) below
Au-dessus: (Fr.) above
Audierne: local provisional, France, 1944
Auditoria de Guerra: (Sp.) war tribunal
Auerbach i. Vogtland: local, Germany, 1886-1907
Auf, A: (Ger.) on
Aufbrauchausgabe, Ab.A: (Ger.) issue to use up supply on hand
Auf brief:: (Ger.) on cover
Auf briefstück: (Ger.) on piece (of a cover)
Aufdruck, Aufdr., A.: (Ger.) surcharge, overprint
Aufdruckfalschung: (Ger.) overprint forgery
Aufdruckfarbe: (Ger.) surcharge or overprint color
Aufdruckfelhldruck: (Ger.) surcharge or overprint error
Aufdruckmarke: (Ger.) overprinted stamp
Aufdruckstellung:: (Ger.) overprint position
Aufdruckunregelmässigkeit: (Ger.) overprint irregularity
Auffindung: (Ger.) discovery
Auffuhrung: (Ger.) listing
Aufgabe Postamt: (Ger.) post office where mail is posted / mailed
Aufgabeschein: (Ger.) posting receipt
Aufgabestempel: (Ger.) postmark of office of origin
Aufgabezettel: (Ger.) tags attached to letters confirming registration, special delivery, airmail
Aufgaklebt: (Ger.) affixed
Aufganzem brief: (Ger.) entire (cover)
Aufgegeben: (Ger.) to have mailed, sent telegram
Aufgeklebt: (Ger.) affixed
Aufgeld: (Ger.) percentage of bid price, auction house commission; in addition to bid price
Aufgestellt: (Ger.) mounted
Aufheben postamt: (Ger.) to close a post office
Aufklebaar: (Ger.) adhesive
Auflage: (Ger.) printing, edition, quantity issued
Auflieferungsstempel: (Ger.) post office of origin cancel
Aufrechnungzahlen: (Ger.) accounting numbers in margin of German stamps
Auf eingeliefert: (Ger.) mailed at sea
Aufständischpost: (Ger.) insurgent post
Auf Umschlag: (Ger.) on cover
Auggabejahr: (Ger.) year of issue
Augosto: (It.) August
Augsburg: 1: local, displaced persons camp, 1946. 2: local, Germany, 1865-84, 1896-1900
Augsburg-Hochfeld: local, displaced persons camp, 1948
August: (Den., Est., Ger. Nor.) August
Augusta, Ga. Paid 5: see: Confederate Postmasters’ Provisionals
Augusti: (Swed.) August
August Issues: nickname used for group of proposed stamps submitted about August 1861 to replace pre-Civil War issues that were to be demonitized; also known as “Premier Grauvres.”
Augusts: (Latv.) August
Augustus: (Neth.) August
Augusztus: (Hung.) August
Aukció: (Hung.) auction
Auktion: (Ger.) auction; a method of selling or buying stamps to the highest bidder
Auktionator: (Ger.) auctioneer
Auktion per postweg: (Ger.) mail bid sale
Auktionsbedingung: (Ger.) auction conditions of sale
Aultionskatalog: (Ger.) auction catalog
Auktionsverkauf: (Ger.) auction sale
Auner’s, A.W., Despatch Post: U.S. local post, Philadelphia, Pa., 1851
Aunus: Russia overprint on stamps of Finland; 1919: Finnish occupation; Russian town of Olonetz
Au plus haut cours: (Fr.) at highest market price
Au plus offrant: (Fr.) to the highest offer
Au profit de la croix rouge: Belgian East Africa Red Cross overprint for Ruanda Urundi
Aurigny: (Fr.) Alderney
Auriu: (Rom.) gold (metallic color)
Ausbleichen: (Ger.) fade
AUS: international postal code for Australia
Aus dem briefkasten: (Ger.) handstamp confirming letter retrieved from mail box instead of post office counter, sender to receive a receipt via mail to limit liability
Ausgabe: (Ger.) issue, set or single
Ausgabe ohne gummi: (Ger.) no gum as issued
Ausgabejahr: (Ger.) year of issue
Ausgabestelle: (Ger.) place of issue
Ausgabetag: (Ger.) day of issue
Ausgebessert: (Ger.) repaired and improved
Ausgebot: (Ger.) first, or opening bid at an auction
Ausgediente platte: (Ger.) worn out printing plate
Ausgefallener druck: (Ger.) missing color, or embossing
Ausgesschieden: (Ger.) discarded
Ausgezeichnet: (Ger.) excellent
Aushilfsausgaben: (Ger.) provisional issue
Aushilfsmarke: (Ger.) provisional stamp postmark
Aushilfsstempel: (Ger.) provisional cancel
Auslage: (Ger.) collect on delivery forerunners
Ausland: (Ger.) foreign countries
Ausländisch: (Ger.) foreign
Auslandspostanstalten: (Ger.) post offices of one nation in another nation
Auslandspostelle: (Ger.) post office foreign mail section
Auslandsstelle: (Ger.) cancel inscription for examination of correct foreign postage
Ausrufpreis: (Ger.) auction starting price
Ausschnitt: (Ger.) cut square
Ausserkurs: (Ger.) demonetized, period of validity expired and withdrawn from sale
Ausserkurssetzung: (Ger.) invalidate; Switzerland overprint demonetisation on remaindered stamps
Aussig: local, Sudentenland, German occupation, 1938
Aussig Wir Sind Frei: “Aussif is free-Liberation demonstration,” unauthorized overprint on stamps of Germany for use in German takeover of Czechoslovakia in 1938
Ausstellungsmedaille: (Ger.) exhibition medal
Austellen: (Ger.) to exhibit
Austellung: (Ger.) exhibition
Austellung Lokale: (Ger.) local exhibition, Range 3; see: Range
Austellungkarte: (Ger.) exhibition souvenir card
Austellung Nationale: (Ger.) national exhibition, Range 1; see: Range
Austellung Regionale: (Ger.) regional exhibition, Range 2; see: Range
Austellungskarte: (Ger.) card for exhibitors in German exhibitions
Austellungsreif: (Ger.) collection ready for exhibition
Austernengrau: (Ger.) oyster gray (color)
Austin, Miss Paid 5: see: Confederate Postmasters’ Provisionals
Austin, Tex Paid 10: see: Confederate Postmasters’ Provisionals
Australasia: term used to describe islands of Southwest Pacific Ocean including Australia, New Zealand, etc
Australasian New Hebrides Company: local post for mail between New Hebrides and New South Wales, 1897
Australia: Oceania, between Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; official name of postal administration: Australia Post currency: 12 pence = 1 shilling; 20 shillings = 1 pound, 100 cents = 1 Australian dollar (1966) 1901, Jan. 1: colonies formed Commonwealth of Australia, part of the British Empire, 1850-60: each colony, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia, Northern Territory, issued its own stamps, 1902: first postage due stamp issued, 1907, Oct. 1: joined the UPU, includes Norfolk Island, 1913: No.1, ½ penny yellow-green; first issue of Australia appeared; A$, A.I.F. 1929, May 20: first air mail stamp issued, 1931, May 4: first official stamp issued, 1946: military stamps for “British Commonwealth Occupation Force,” 1999: referendum to change status from a commonwealth to an independent republic was defeated
Australian Antarctic Territory, A A T: Australian section of Antarctica; 1957, Mar. 27: issued its first stamps, also valid for use in Australia
Australian customs duty: 1913, stamps used for prepayment of advertising material sent to Australia in bulk shipments
Australian States: six colonies formed the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901; New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia
Australia Occupation of Japan: “B.C.O.F. Japan 1946” overprint on stamps of Australia for British Commonwealth Occupation Force
Australia Post Sprintpak: stamp printer for Australia and many other nations
Australie: (Fr., Czech.) Australia
Australie du Sud: (Fr.) South Australia
Australien: (Dan., Ger., Swed.) Australia
Australien Stater: (Dan.) Australian States
Australisk: (Den., Nor., Swed.) Australian
Australiske skeppspost: (Swed.) Australian ship mail (ship post)
Australiske skibspost: (Dan.) Australian ship mail (ship post)
Australiske skipspost: (Nor.) Australian ship mail (ship post)
Australiske Stater: (Dan., Nor., Swed.) Australian States
Australsk: (Dan.) Australian
Australsky: (Czech.) Australia
Austria: central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia; official name of postal administration: Post & Telecom Austria AG currency: 60 kreuzer = 1 gulden, 100 new kreuzer =1 gulden (1858), 100 heller = 1 krone (1899), 100 groschen = 1 schilling (1945), 100 cents = 1 euro (2002); stamps of this country can be found in these catalogs: Aelou, Austria Post, Borek, Ferchenbauer, Michel, Netto,
Philex, Scott, Stanley Gibbons, Yvert et Tellier; 1850: stamps of Austrian monarchy, includes Hungary, 1851: first newspaper stamp, 1867: No.1, 1 kreuzer yellow; stamps first issued as part of Austro-Hungarian Empire, 1867: stamps issued for use in the Austrian post offices in the Turkish Empire, 1875, July 1: joined the UPU, 1894: first postage due stamp issued, 1914, Oct. 4: first semipostal stamp issued, 1915: first military stamp, 1918: stamp under Italian occupation issued in Trieste, 1918, Dec.: Austrian Republic overprint “German Austria” (Deutschösterreich), 1919, July: first unoverprinted stamps issued, 1920: name changed to “Austria,” 1918, March 30: first airmail stamp issued, 1938, Mar.-1945: occupied and annexed by Germany, German stamps were used, 1945: occupied by American and Soviet troops, 1945, Nov.: first stamps as independent republic, 1955, May 15: treaty recognized Austria’s independence
Austria, Allied Military Government: joint issue by U.S. and Britain for use in civilian areas under American, British and French occupation; Carinthia, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol, Upper Austria, Vorarlberg
Austriac: (Rom) Austria (adj.)
Austria, locals: 1: Katschberghohe, hotel 1933-38. 2: Kessel-Alpenhaus and Moserboden, 1927-38
Austria, Lombardy-Venetia: currency: 100 centesimi = 1 lira, 100 soldi – 1 florin (1858) 1850, June 1: Austrian kingdom, first stamps for Lombardy-Venetia, required different stamps than Austria because their currency was based on silver while Austria based on paper currency. 1858: first newspaper tax stamp, 1859: Lombardy annexed to Sardinia, 1866: Venetia annexed to Kingdom of Italy,
Austria, S.S.: Steamship of the Danube Steam Navigation Company; 1840s: for the Express Mail of the lower Danube lines
Austrian Government Printing Office: Vienna, printer of stamps for Austria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, etc
Austrian Italy: provinces of Lombardy and Venice administered by Austria; 1850: stamps first issued, 1859: Lombardy ceded to Sardinia, 1866: Venetia annexed to Italy
Austrian Levant: Austrian post offices in the Ottoman Empire; 1867: stamps first issued, 1914-15: stamps withdrawn
Austrian military post: Bosnia stamps with “K.U.K. Feldpost”; 1912-14: stamps inscribed or overprinted used by Austrian forces in occupation of parts of Italy, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia, 1912-18: issues for Bosnia and Herzegovina had inscription “K.U.K. Militarpost,” see: K.U.K. Feldpost, K.U.K. Militarpost
Austrian Offices in Crete: Austrian post offices in Crete and Turkish Empire; 1903-14: Austrian stamps valued in French currency, available throughout the Turkish Empire, 1913: island given to Greece and post offices closed
Austrian Offices in Turkish Empire: Austrian post offices in the Turkish Empire; 1867-pre: used its issues for Lombardy-Venetia, 1867: used special stamps for its Turkish Empire Offices, 1903-14: Austrian stamps valued in French currency, available throughout the Turkish Empire, 1914, Dec. 15: offices closed
Austrian State Printing Works: Vienna, printer of stamps of Austria
Austro-Americana: operated ships from Trieste to New York and South America; Marianne and Martha Washington known to carry mail
Austro-Hungarian Empire (Monarchy): located in central and eastern Europe, 1867-1918; 1850, June 1: stamps for use in Austrian Empire issued, 1867-1871: Austria and Hungary used the same stamps, 1871: Hungary had its own issues
Austro-Hungarian Forces in World War I: 1914: Brief invasions of Serbia and Russian Poland in October and November – no new stamps issued but postmarks for a few occupied towns can be found used on Austrian and Bosnian stamps. 1915-1918: Stamps overprinted or inscribed “K.u.K. (Imperial & Royal) Feldpost” were issued to pay postage on military mail when required, i.e. for registration, special delivery, parcel post, etc. and on civilian mail in the occupied territories, 1916, Mar. 6: Bosnian stamps issued overprinted “Serbien” for occupation of Serbia, 1916: Occupation of Northern and Central Albania, no new stamps issued but cancels of Albanian towns used on Austrian fieldpost stamps, 1917, Mar.1: Fieldpost stamps overprinted “Montenegro” for occupation of Montenegro, 1917, Nov. 1: Fieldpost stamps surcharged “centesimi” and “lire” for occupation of (Northeast) Italy, 1918: Occupation of Ukraine, no new stamps issued but Austrian fieldpost stamps used
Austrumi: (Latv.) East
Auswahlheft: (Ger.) approval book
Auswahlsendung: (Ger.) selection of stamps or covers sent on approval
Auswärtiges Amt (AA): (Ger.) foreign office (post)
Ausztrália: (Hung.) Australia
Ausztráliai: (Hung.) Australian
Ausztria: (Hung.) Austria, Osztrák
Autaugaville, Ala. Paid 5: see: Confederate Postmasters’ Provisionals
Autentica: (Rom.) authentic, genuine
Auténtico: (It., Sp., Port.) genuine
Autentisk: (Nor.) genuine
AuthentiDate: software developed to digitally sign documents and seal them with an official U.S. electronic postmark
Authorized delivery stamps: denotes the tax on mail permitted to be delivered by private services; see: Recapito autorizzato
Authorized Service: United Kingdom strike local post, 1971
Authorized Service WC: United Kingdom strike local post, 1971
Authentication mark: mark placed on the back of a stamp to indicate that it has been examined by an expert
Authenticity: expertising, genuineness
Authentique: (Fr.) genuine
Authentisch: (Ger.) genuine
Auto-adesiva: (Port.) self-adhesive
Autoadesivi: (It.) self-adhesive
Autobuspaketmarke(n): (Ger.) mail bus parcel post stamp(s)
Autobuses de Boyaca: local post, Colombia, 1927
Autobus postal: (Fr.) postbus
Autocar Service Co.: local post, Philadelphia, Penn; used stamps
Auto Delivery Co.: local post, used labels, year unknown
Autógrafo: (Sp.) anything written by one’s own hand, such as signatures
Autogramm: (Ger.) autograph
Autograph: anything written by one’s own hand, such as signatures
Autographe: (Fr.) anything written by one’s own hand, such as signatures
Autographed cover: cover personally signed by someone connected to the event commemorated by the cover; does not include the Free Franking signature
Autogiro mail: 1930s experimental aircraft that carried mail over short, but congested routes
Automated Postal Center: USPS vending machine that permits customers to use a debit or credit card to buy computer-generated stamps and mail them, 2002
Automatenmarke: (Ger.) vending machine stamps, variable rate stamp (Frama labels)
Automathæfte(r): (Dan.) automatic telling machine (ATM) booklet(s)
Automathäfte: (Swed.) automatic telling machine (ATM) booklet(s)
Automathefter: (Nor.) automatic telling machine (ATM) booklet(s)
Automatic Canceling Machines: replaced manual canceling machines in 1963 when phosphor tagging was used
Automatic letter facing machine (ALF): rearranges letter in a stack with stamps facing the same way, and cancels the stamps
Automatic Shipping Machines: a self-service, variable-denomination, credit card only operated postage franking machine tested in Winn-Dixie Supermarkets; withdrawn from use, Dec. 1992
Automatic stamps: value applied directly to a mail piece or gummed label for affixing to the mail and dispensed by a coin-operated vending machine
Automation discount: postage reduction offered to mailers who pre-barcode their mail pieces and meet addressing, readability, and other requirements for processing on automated equipment; discount relative to the single piece rate for the mail class, USPS term
Automatmærke(r): (Dan.) automatic telling machine (ATM) stamp(s), meter stamps
Automatmärke(r): (Swed.) automatic telling machine (ATM) stamp(s), meter stamps
Automatmærker: (Nor.) booklets for use in vending machines
Automatmerker: 1. (Nor.) meter postage. 2. (Dan.) Automatic telling machine (ATM) stamp(s)
Automatmærke: (Dan.) Automatic telling machine (ATM) stamp(s)
Automibile: (It.) automobile, as a theme or topic
Automobilpostbüro: (Ger.) mobile post office
Automóvil: (Sp.) automobile, as a theme or topic
Autopaketti: Finland parcel post inscription
Auto Parcel Delivery Co.: local post; used a label, year unknown
Autopen: mechanical machine reproduction of an autograph
Auto-PKW-LKW: (Ger.) automobile, as a theme or topic
Autopost: experimental stamp vending machines used 1989-90 in Washington, DC area
Autopost stamps: computer printed and sold via Autopost machines; stamps contain computer- generated USA, and a vertical orange bar at the left edge
Auto Special Delivery: local post, used a stamp, year unknown
Auto-Wound: term printed on the coil leader produced by a BEP machine, 1910
Autrement: (Fr.) otherwise
Autres objets: (Fr.) other articles; a category of international mail that is made up of various classes of printed matter, matter for the blind and small packets
Autriche: (Fr.) Austria
Au verso: (Fr.) back, as opposed to the front of a philatelic object
Auxiliary markings: broad range of markings that require action on the part of the mailer, addressee or both; for example, a letter that must be forwarded to a new address or a notice on a cover asking for postage due; USPS term
Auxilio: (Sp.) assistance, relief aid
Auxilio de Invierno: (Sp.) winter relief
AV2: cover marking distinctive of Hong Kong transit airmail
Avalov-Bermondt: Latvia, area in West Russia, Western Army, 1918
Avant: (Fr.) before
Avarua: see: New Zealand
AVE: (Fr.) Victims of Philatelic Investment Fraud, a group of accumulators who bought imperforate and non-denominated Monaco stamps as an investment
Ave.: USPS address abbreviation for Avenue
Avec: (Fr.) with
Avec charnicre: (Fr.) hinged
Avec Charnière: (Fr.) hinge remnant
Avec Olusier Charnière: (Fr.) heavy hinge remnant
Average: a stamp with poor margins or perforations cutting into design, not good; if used, may be heavily postmarked; Unterschiedliche Erhaltung (Ger.), (Condition) Moyenne (Fr.), Stato di Conservazione Vario (It.), Calidades Diversas (Sp.)
Avermelhado: (Port.) reddish color
Avers: (Fr.) obverse
Avers, Aversum: (Ger.) postage free based on contract between German States and administration
Avery Dennison: Avery International, printer of U.S. postage stamps, became Avery Dennison in 1992 and produces mainly self-adhesive stamps
Avery Int’l: produced the plastic self-adhesive for vending machine use, became Avery- Dennison in 1992
Avery, Sir William B.: 1854-1908, collector who at one time owned the 1d and 2d “Post Office” Mauritius stamps
Avg.: average, abbreviation, term used to denote condition of a stamp, generally the lowest collectible grade
Avgående: (Swed.) outgoing
Avgifts Merke: (Nor.) fee stamp for annual tax for use of a motorcycle
Aviacon: (Sp.) Uruguay airmail inscription
Avianca Airlines: Aerovias Nacionales de Colombia S.A.; private air firms under government contract had their owns stamps to show airmail fees, 1950-52: “A” overprint used on Spanish stamps
Avico: Macao surcharge for airmail
Avila: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist and Republican, 1936-37
Aviles: local, Spanish Republican, 1937
Avinyo: local, Spanish civil war, Republican, 1937
Avion: (Fr., Sp.) inscription for airmail, airplane, aviation, Alaouites, vertical overprint
Avion Messre Tafari: “Royal Airmail” overprint on Ethiopia air stamps
Avionska Posta: Jugoslavia airmail overprint
Avis: (Fr.) notice
Avis(er): (Dan., Nor.) newspapaper(s)
Avis de Recepcion: (Sp.) El Salvador, acknowledgment of receipt
Avis de Reception: (Fr.) permits the sender, upon payment of a fee, to be notified of confirmation of delivery
Avis de Recibo: (Sp.) advice of receipt
Aviser: (Den.) Newspaper
Avisporto: (Den.) Denmark newspaper issue
Avisporto maerke: Denmark, prepaid information stamp, inscription on printed paper stamp
Avorio: (It.) ivory (color)
Avos: Monetary unit of Macao and Timor
AVR: Avery Dennison
Avril: (Fr.) April
Avrupa Konseyi: (Turk.) overprint for Council of Europe, 10th anniversary
AVSEC: USPS marking for Aviation Security, indicating the parcel has been screened for security purposes
AW: Aruba, country code as used by UPU
A. W. Auner’s Despatch Post: United States local post, Philadelphia, Pa. 1851
AWL: Albert W. Leger, BEP employee initials, 1906-1928; Plate Finisher, Siderographer
AX: Scott Catalogue prefix for forerunners, such as CSA-Postmasters’ Provisional
Ayachucho: overprint on stamps of Peru, 1881, for one of the Arequipa issues
Ayamn: Ajman
Ayamonte: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist, 1936-38
Ayer, J.C. & Co.: U.S. private die medicine proprietary stamp
Ayer & Co.s Express: local freight express; serviced Boston and Haverhill, Mass., used a label, 1887
Ayer’s Express: local parcel company that serviced Boston, Haverhill and Bradford, Mass.; used labels; 1850-72
Ayesbury & Buckingham Railway: local post, United Kingdom
Ayshire & Wigtownshire Railway: local post, United Kingdom
Ayuda: (Sp.) help
Ayuda el Ecuador: Paraguay semi-postal overprint (earthquake victims)
Ayuntamiento de Barcelona: (Sp.) local tax stamp for the Corporation of Barcelona
AZ: 1: Azerbaijan, country code as used by UPU. 2: USPS abbreviation for Arizona
A. Z.: Albania 1927 overprint for President Ahmed Zogu
Azad hind: bogus, “Free India” inscription printed in Germany in 1942
Azemar machine: a cancelling machine named after J.G. Azemar for trials in Great Britain in 1869; discarded as unsatisfactory in 1873
Azemour: local post handstamp frank used by Sultan of Morocco. 1892
Azerbaidjan: (Fr.) Azerbaijan
Azerbadjan: (Swed.) Azerbaijan
Azserbadjisk: (Swed.) Azerbaijanian
Azerbaijan: Southwestern Asia, on Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia; currency: 100 kopecs = 1 ruble, 100 giapiki = 1 manat (1992) 1917: became independent after Russian Revolution, 1917: Russian stamps overprinted “Occupation Azirbaydejan” during Russian occupation; found to be bogus, 1918, May 26: independence proclaimed, 1919: No.1, 10 kopecks multi; first stamps issued, until replaced by the Federation issues, 1920, Apr. 20: Soviet Republic established, 1922: first semipostal stamp issued, 1922, Mar. 12: joins Transcaucasian Federated Republic, 1923: own stamps as part of the Transcaucasian Federated Republic, with Armenia and Georgia, 1924-91: Soviet stamps used, 1945, May-Mar.1946: occupied by Russia, set of 15 Iranian stamps overprinted “National Government of Azerbaijan, 11th May 1945,” 1946, Mar.: became an autonomous government, 1945-46: Persian stamps overprinted “Occupation Azirbaydejan” during Russian occupation; found to be bogus, 1946, Dec.: Iranian administration restored in their part of nation, 1991, Dec. 26: became an independent nation, 1993: part of the Commonwealth of Independent States, 1993, April 1: joined the UPU, 1995, Oct. 26: first airmail
Azerbaidschan: (Ger.) Azerbaidjan
Azermarka: 2002, overprint for the trading name of the stamp division of the Ministry of Communications of Azerbaijan
Azimur: (also Azemmour or Azamor) Atlantic coast seaport in NW Morocco, Cherifien post town by Sultan’s 1892 decree. Used distinctive octagonal handstamp for mails carried by runners, Cherifien Posts
Azirbayedjan: Azerbaijan, 1919-22
Azoren: (Ger.) Azores
Azorerna: (Swed.) the Azores
Azorerne: (Dan., Nor.) the Azores
Azores: North Atlantic Ocean, Portuguese Atlantic islands; Scott Catalog, after Portugal currency: 1,000 reis = 1 milreis, 100 centavos = 1 escudo (1912), 100 cents = 1 euro 1868-pre: Portuguese stamps used, 1868: No.1, 5 reise black; first overprinted issues, 1876: first newspaper stamp, 1904: first postage due stamp issued, 1911: first semipostal stamp issued, 1931: stamps of Portugal used, 1976: self-governing region of Portugal, 1980, Jan.2: Azores stamps issued, used concurrently with stamps of Portugal, Açores, A.H.PD, Angra
Azores, forged issue: 1912-31 overprint Ceres, Sc. 155-237
Azserbadjisj: (Swed.) Azerbaijanian
Azuaga: local, Spanish civil war, Nationalist, 1937
Azul: (Sp., Port.) having the color of a clear sky, or the deep sea
Azulado: (Sp.) bluish (color)
Azulado-gris: (Sp.) bluish-grey (color)
Azulado-negro: (Sp.) bluish-black (color)
Azulado-verde: (Sp.) bluish-green (color)
Azul-ardósia: (Sp.) blue-slate (color)
Azul Celeste: (Port., Sp.) sky blue (color)
Azul-cinza: (Port.) blue-gray (color)
Azul-cinza Escuro: (Port.) light blue-gray (color)
Azul Claro: (Sp.) dull blue (color)
Azul Cobalto: (Port., Sp.) cobalt blue (color)
Azul Cobalto Palido: (Port., Sp.) pale cobalt blue (color)
Azul de Aco; Azul de Acero: (Port., Sp.) steel blue (color)
Azul de Cerúleo: (Sp.) cerulean blue (color)
Azul de Cretoso: (Sp.) chalky blue (color)
Azul de Oriental: (Sp.) oriental blue (color)
Azul de Prusia, Azul Prusiano: (Sp.) Prussian blue (color)
Azul de Prussia: (Port.) Prussian bue (color)
Azul de Turquesa: (Port.) turquoise blue (color)
Azul espliego: (Sp.) lavender (color)
Azul-gris: (Sp.) blue-grey (color)
Azul-gris Oscuro: (Sp.) dark blue-grey (color)
Azul indigo: (Sp.) indigo (color)
Azul Lechoso: (Sp.) milky blue (color)
Azul Ligeruosa: (Sp.) slightly blue (color)
Azul Manganês: (Port.) Manganese blue (color)
Azul Manganeso: (Sp.) Manganese blue (color)
Azul Mar: (Sp.) sea blue (color)
Azul Marinho: (Port.) navy blue (color)
Azul Marino: (Sp.) navy blue (color)
Azul Mate: (Sp.) dull blue (color)
Azul-negro: (Sp.) blue-black (color)
Azul Oscuro: (Sp.) dark, deep blue (color)
Azul Pálido: (Sp.) pale blue (color)
Azul Pizzara: (Sp.) slate blue (color)
Azul-purpúreo: (Sp.) blue-slate (color)
Azul-preto: (Port.) blue-black (color)
Azul-púrpura: (Port.) blue-purple (color)
Azul-purpúreo: (Sp.) blue-purple (color)
Azul-purpúreo Brillante: (Sp.) brilliant blue-purple (color)
Azul-púrpura vivo: (Port.) bright blue-purple (color)
Azul Real: (Sp.) royal blue (color)
Azul Subido: (Sp.) bright blue (color)
Azul Turbio: (Sp.) chalky blue (color)
Azul turquesa: (Sp.) turquoise (color)
Azul Ultramarino: (Sp.) ultramarine (color)
Azul-verde: (Port., Sp.) blue-green (color)
Azul-verde Oscuro: (Sp.) dark blue-green (color)
Azul-verde Escuro: (Port.) dark blue-green (color)
Azul-verdoso: (Sp.) greenish-blue (color)
Azul-violeta: (Sp.) blue-violet (color)
Azul-vivo: (Sp.) bright blue (color)
Azulado: (Port., Sp.) bluish (color)
Azulado-cinza: (Port.) bluish-grey (color)
Azulado-preto: (Port.) bluish-black (color)
Azulado-verde: (Port.) bluish-green (color)
Azulado-verde (cian): (Port.) bluish-green (cyan)
Azulado-verde escuro: (Port.) dark bluish-green (color)
Azulado-verde Pálido: (Port.) pale bluish-green (color)
Azulado-verde Violeta: (Port.) bluish-violet (color)
Azur: (Fr.) pale bluish (color)
Azurat: (Rom.) bluish (color), Albastrui
Azuriu: (Rom.) sky blue (color)
Azzurrato: (It.) blueness (color)
Azzurro: (It.) blue
Azzurro Acciaio: (It.) steel blue (color)
Azzurro Ardesia: (It.) slate blue (color)
Azzurro Brillante: (It.) brilliant blue (color)
Azzurro Carico: (It.) dark blue (color)
Azzurro Celeste: (It.) sky blue (color)
Azzurro Ceruleo: (It.) cerilean blue (color)
Azzurro Chiaro: (It.) cobalt blue (color)
Azzurro Cobalto: (It.) cobalt blue (color)
Azzurro Cobalto Pallido: (It.) cobalt blue (color)
Azzurro di Prussia: (It.) Prussian blue (color)
Azzurro Gessoso: (It.) chalky blue (color)
Azzurro-grigio: (It.) blue-grey (color)
Azzurro-grigio Scurro: (It.) dark blue-grey (color)
Azzurro Indaco: (It.) indigo blue (color)
Azzurro Latteo: (It.) milky grey (color)
Azzurro Leggermente: (It.) slightly blue (color)
Azzurro Lucente: (It.) bright blue (color)
Azzurro Maganese: (It.) manganese blue (color)
Azzurro Mare: (It.) sea blue (color)
Azzurro Marino: (It.) marine blue (color)
Azzurro-nero: (It.) blue-black (color)
Azzurro Oltremar: (It.) ultramarine (color)
Azzurro Orientale: (It.) oriental blue (color)
Azzurro Palido: (It.) pale blue (color)
Azzurro-porpora: (It.) blue-purple (color)
Azzurro-porpora Brillante: (It.) brilliant blue-purple (color)
Azzurro Reale: (It.) royal blue (color)
Azzurro Scuro: (It.) deep blue (color)
Azzurro Smorto: (It.) bright blue (color)
Azzurro Turchese: (It.) turquoise (color)
Azzurro Verdastro: (It.) greenish-blue (color)
Azzurro Verde: (It.) blue-green (color)
Azzurro-verde scuro: (It.) dark blue-green (color)
Azzurro-violetto: (It.) blue-violet (color)
Azzurro Vivo: (It.) bright blue (color)
Azzurrognolo: (It.) bluish (color)
Azzurrognolo-grigio: (It.) bluish-grey (color)
Azzurrognolo-nero: (It.) bluish-black (color)
Azzurrognolo-verde: (It.) bluish-green (color).